Briefing
TRACE Global Enforcement Report for 2018: anti-bribery investigation and enforcement activity continues to grow worldwide
Recently TRACE International published its 2018 Global Enforcement Report. This Report provides the most up-to-date statistics on cross-border bribery investigations and enforcement actions. The familiar trends from last year show no signs of abating but some interesting new trends have also emerged.
Some key figures and trends:
- The number of U.S. investigations into foreign-bribery allegations saw a slight drop in 2018; despite this there was a notable increase in the number of open investigations worldwide (Europe saw its number of open investigations climb approximately 37% - the region now counts for more than half of all foreign-bribery allegations);
- In terms of sectors, Financial Services was the most heavily investigated by U.S. agencies in connection with foreign-bribery allegations, accounting for approximately 17% of all such investigations. In other jurisdictions the focus remained elsewhere, mainly with Extractive Industries, Engineering/Construction and Aerospace/Defense/Security, with Financial Services accounting for only 6% of open investigations;
- One trend that receives little coverage in the Report is the continued and increasing levels of cross-border coordination between authorities – including within Europe; and
- The report notes 4 foreign bribery investigations and 3 enforcement actions by Israeli regulators.
Anti-bribery will continue to be a hot compliance topic. Israeli companies need to remain aware of anti-bribery precautions both in Israel and when conducting business abroad. Implementation of appropriate policies and procedures tailored for a company’s specific business can avoid violations and mitigate consequences for a company whose employees do run afoul of anti-bribery laws.
Please reach out to a member of our team should you require further information in relation to any of the above.
