Britain leans towards having former Colonies adopt Anti-Corruption standards, stop short of demanding as condition for cooperative ventures

by AirBourne / September 29th, 2011

It’s not so long ago when REDjet was buried under Red Tape – what amazed some and yet others appeared to show ennui is this; the response across the Caribbean was almost universal – if certain officials wanted “grease” to have the wheels in motion faster than they deemed necessary then give those officials what they want!

Delivering a very succinct Power Point Presentation, the rather proactive Paul Brummell, Britain's High Commissioner to Barbados & the Eastern Caribbean

Do you recall how England lost the FIFA bid for Soccer World Cup 2018? They never quite recovered, yet the frustration was used creatively – they set up legislation to stamp out Bribery, not a report looking at it but circumstances which define what types of facilitation (diplomatic or NGO or business, local or overseas) are okay and which are a no-no and WHY…

If Port Of Spain enacted laws like London, could FIFA & REDjet challenges be hanging over the Scarlet Ibis like a Sword of Damocles right now?

The Bribery Act came into force on 1 July and affects UK firms operating overseas as much as it does with firms operating in the UK.

The Bribery Act will benefit, not hinder, British business. It will ensure the UK is at the forefront of the battle against bribery; clamping down on corruption without being a burden on business.

His Excellency Paul Brummell of UK’s High Commission in Barbados recently undertook an extensive update and discussion on what constitutes “funny money” at Ben Mar the High Commissioner’s official Residence recently. The Commissioner went into great detail which segments may affect Barbados {CLICK ON FOLLOWING LINK FOR FULL AUDIO};-

Guidance for business which was issued in April shows that combating bribery is about common sense, not burdensome procedures. This guidance will help organisations understand the legislation and deal with the risks of bribery easily and effectively.

The Commissioner was frank enough to state that even an informal party such as was held that night could be deemed Bribery if there were gifts which were considered lavish and certain officials of particular projects were invited under the proviso that results for projects ran at a specified pace, he also hinted the Magna Carta may have been one of England’s first anti-corruption Bills.

UKTI's Ian Ascough explains particular sections of the Act to the audience which includes Ruth Archibald - Canada's HC for B'dos, the US Embassy's new Charge D'Affaires Chris Sandrolini and Digicel's Barbados Manager Barry O'Brien

Mr Brummell says there’s much not only England and its outposts but many businesses who prefer to operate under a legitimate umbrella can do to ensure all of their transactions are above-board {CLICK ON FOLLOWING LINK FOR FULL AUDIO};-

David Cameron’s admin has listened carefully to numerous businesses to ensure the Bribery Act is implemented in a workable, commonsense way, which is simple for both the smallest firm and largest corporation to get to grips with.

However, Mr Brummell stopped short of indicating that the UK will only operate with anti-Bribe entities when asked outright {CLICK ON FOLLOWING LINK FOR FULL AUDIO};-

The British envoy says while it would be satisfying if Commonwealth members were to adopt similar tactics, nevertheless such corresponding legislature should be voluntary and not coerced.