PARIS - Established in 1994, the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions (Working Group) is responsible for monitoring the implementation and enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, the 2021 Recommendation on Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Bribery in International Business Transactions and related instruments. This peer-review monitoring system is conducted in successive phases and is considered by Transparency International to be the ‘gold standard’ of monitoring.
Made up of representatives from the States Parties to the Convention, the Working Group meets four times per year in Paris and publishes all of its country monitoring reports online.
The Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (the Anti-Bribery Convention) is the first and only international anti-corruption instrument focused on the “supply side” of the bribery transaction. By monitoring countries' implementation of the Anti-Bribery Convention and ensuring they uphold their obligations, the OECD Working Group on Bribery is leading global efforts to fight bribery of foreign public officials in international trade and investment. This report serves as an annual update from the OECD Working Group on Bribery that highlights its 2021 activities and achievements.
The Anti-Bribery Convention
Bribery undermines economic development, distorts markets and raises the cost of doing business. The Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (Anti- Bribery Convention or Convention) establishes legally binding obligations on Parties to criminalise the bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions, and provides for a host of related measures that make this effective. These include requiring Parties to hold their companies liable, to impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions, and to provide mutual legal assistance in foreign bribery cases. The Convention is the first and only international anti-corruption instrument focused on the ‘supply side’ of the bribery transaction.
In addition to OECD member countries, the Convention is open to accession by any country that becomes a full participant in the OECD Working Group on Bribery, under the Working Group on Bribery’s accession procedures. To date, forty-four countries - the thirty-eight OECD member countries and six non-member countries - have ratified or acceded to the Convention.
To download the full report, visit: https://www.oecd.org/daf/anti-bribery/working-group-on-bribery-2021-annual-report.pdf
