Enforcement against foreign bribery on a global scale has hit an historic low, according to a report by Transparency International.
In Transparency International’s report, “Exporting Corruption 2022,” 43 signatories to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention were assessed, along with China, India, Hong Kong SAR, and Singapore. Together, the countries analyzed account for almost 85 percent of all global exports, with OECD member countries accounting for almost two-thirds.
The report is meant to complement the OECD Working Group on Bribery’s (WGB) monitoring of country implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in successive phases.
According to Transparency International, just two of the 47 largest exporting countries in the world—the United States and Switzerland—are “active enforcers,” meaning they investigate, charge, and impose sanctions commensurate with their share of global exports (11.8 percent in combination). However, even the United States pursued “significantly fewer cases in 2021,” Transparency International said in a blog post.
“From the inception of our categories in 2009, the percentage of global exports coming from ‘active enforcers’ had remained above 20 percent— nearly twice this year’s percentage—until it began to drop in 2020,” Transparency International said.
Two former “active” enforcers—the United Kingdom and Israel—dropped this year into “moderate” enforcement. Seven other countries whose enforcement levels declined were Italy, Brazil, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, and Lithuania.
Most of the 47 countries analyzed have limited or no enforcement at all, while representing 40 percent of global exports. These countries include China, the world’s top exporter, as well as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia and more.
Only two countries—Latvia and Peru—stepped up their foreign bribery enforcement efforts. That now puts Latvia in the “moderate” enforcement category, while Peru has inched up into the “limited” enforcement category.
Inadequacies persist
Transparency International’s report further highlighted inadequacies in legal frameworks and enforcement systems. “Serious inadequacies persist in laws and justice systems in every country. In many, investigative bodies have inadequate resourcing and independence,” Transparency International said.
It continued, “Whistleblowers lack key protections. Few governments publish sufficient information on pending or concluded foreign bribery cases stymying accountability to citizens, partner countries and the people harmed.”
“Even in countries that do enforce, foreign bribery continues to be treated as a victimless crime,” said Gillian Dell, head of Conventions at Transparency International and co-author of the report. “This means states whose companies commit crimes abroad fill their treasuries with multimillion dollar penalties while victims are left to bear the cost.”
“It is time to recognize victims’ rights by developing transparent and accountable mechanisms to compensate those harmed, including foreign states, business competitors and whole populations suffering from foreign bribery,” Dell added. “This is essential to achieve justice and deter future violations.” 
Jaclyn Jaeger is a contributing editor at Compliance Chief 360° and a freelance business writer based in Manchester, New Hampshire.