Foreign bribery – OECD Working Group on Bribery

Corruption not only has a major impact on society and public institutions, it also distorts competition. When companies gain advantages by paying bribes, this prevents fair competition, both at national and international level.

OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions

The international community has for decades been working on uniform standards to fight corruption. ​The OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions of 17 December 1997 is one of the major instruments to reach this goal. The parties to the Convention are obliged to establish bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions as a criminal offence under their national law. All member countries of the OECD and an additional eight states, including South Africa, Argentina and Brazil, have so far acceded to the Convention.

Thanks to the Convention, bribery of foreign public officials is increasingly being prosecuted in the parties to the Convention. Germany acceded to the Convention in 1998. It is one of the leading countries when it comes to combating and prosecuting foreign bribery.

Implementation of the Convention in Germany

For current information about Germany’s efforts to combat the bribery of foreign public officials, cf. the reports by the ​OECD Working Group on Bribery. The Working Group monitors the implementation of the OECD Convention in the member countries. For this purpose, the OECD Working Group on Bribery regularly draws up comprehensive reports on the status of implementation in the context of evaluation rounds.

In June 2018, Germany was reviewed for the fourth time. The report by the Working Group provides a comprehensive overview of Germany’s efforts to combat foreign bribery. In conclusion, the OECD acknowledges that Germany is one of the most active countries in terms of prosecuting bribery of foreign public officials. However, it also makes various recommendations on how to further improve the implementation of the Convention. The report on the fourth evaluation round can be found ​here.

Useful information for companies operating abroad

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection provide information about how to prevent corruption, targeting in particular companies that are operating abroad.

The Ministries give an overview of international and national legislation, focussing on advice on how to prevent corruption especially in international business transactions. In addition to proposals of their own, they also refer to further, more comprehensive advice.

Information on OECD Due Diligence Warnings

The OECDWorking Group on Bribery may issue official warnings – known as Due Diligence Warnings – where member or partner countries continue to exhibit shortcomings in combating foreign bribery.

You can find the latest warnings and further information in the ​OECD’s press releases and on the ​overview page of the OECD Working Group on Bribery.