The OECD attaches the highest priority to the fight against bribery and corruption in international business. The centerpiece of OECD efforts, the 1997 OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, captured worldwide attention as the first global instrument to fight corruption in cross-border business deals. Today bribing a foreign public official is a crime in the 38 countries that have ratified the Convention.

But the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention goes beyond ensuring that parties outlaw foreign bribery. It also ensures enforcement of the laws through systematic monitoring by the OECD Working Group on Bribery. And OECD efforts don’t stop there. Related OECD instruments put an end to the tax deductibility of bribes to foreign officials, deter bribery in officially supported export credits and require anti-corruption provisions in development aid.

Regional actions also form a large part of OECD efforts to fight corruption. These regional actions help countries who are not parties to the Convention but who seek to improve their anti-corruption standards based on OECD anti-corruption instruments and other international instruments.

Throughout all this work the OECD collaborates closely with the private sector and civil society, crucial partners in the fight against corruption.

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