Denmark has engaged in significant legislative efforts to implement the OECD Anti-bribery Convention. However, Denmark should amend its laws to impose tougher sanctions on Danish companies and individuals found guilty of bribing foreign public officials, according to a new report by the OECD’s Working Group on Bribery.
The 36-country Working Group has just completed a review of Denmark’s enforcement of the OECD Convention on Combating the Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. Its main recommendations are that Denmark should:
- amend the law to increase the penalties for foreign bribery,
- create a framework for more efficient reporting by key public agencies concerning suspected acts of foreign bribery which they might uncover or be alerted to in the course of their work;
- allow the use of special investigative methods such as the interception of communications and undercover operations in serious foreign bribery cases,
- take measures to enhance prevention and detection in the private sector, including more adequate protection of whistleblowers.
The Working Group also highlighted positive aspects of the fight against bribery of foreign public officials by Danish companies and individuals, including Denmark’s extension to five years of the limitation period for prosecuting legal persons (previously two years), which should help ensure a more effective enforcement of the foreign bribery offence. Denmark also recently improved its legislation regarding the prevention of money laundering in ways that should help detect attempts to launder funds relating to foreign bribery.
The report, with the full recommendations on pages 63 - 65, also includes an overview of recent enforcement actions and specific legal and policy features in Denmark for combating the bribery of foreign public officials. As with all other OECD Working Group members, Denmark will make an oral report to the Working Group after one year on its actions to implement the Working Group’s recommendations. A further report in writing to the Working Group within two years will give rise to a publicly-available evaluation by the Working Group of Denmark’s implementation of the recommendations.
For further information, journalists are invited to contact the OECD Media Office.