Gift-wrapping bribery: corporate perks in Asia Pacific

Asia Pacific renewed focus on the use of gifts and hospitality.

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Our Gifts, entertainment, travel and training: Compliance with anti-bribery regulation in Asia Pacific guide navigates the underlying law and practice in this complex area across 15 Asia Pacific jurisdictions. It also addresses the position under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the UK Bribery Act. These long-arm statutes have been invoked in respect of non-monetary benefits, with major FCPA fines levelled against multinationals in recent years in relation to lavish gifts, hospitality and tours in Asia.

As well as indicating acceptable business hospitality, each chapter also deals with the status of charitable donations and benefits provided to third parties, and whether authorisation may mitigate liability. This new expanded version of the Guide also includes ‘at a glance’ checklists at the end of each country chapter.

The Guide will be of assistance to members of Legal and Compliance teams who are expected to provide guidance to their businesses in relation to the provision of gifts, entertainment, travel and training.

Other key topics covered by the Guide include:

• the general scope of local anti-bribery laws (eg, whether they cover both public and private sector bribery, and the meaning of “public official”)
• the kinds of gifts likely to be considered acceptable
• the forms of entertainment likely to be considered acceptable
• whether and to what extent travel and accommodation may be provided for
• whether rules cover benefits provided to relatives of public officials 
• whether consent or disclosure may legitimise an otherwise problematic advantage
• fines and penalties

The Guide has been compiled by our network of Herbert Smith Freehills Corporate Crime & Investigations specialists. It compliments other guides in our series, such as the 2015 Guide to Anti-corruption regulation in Asia Pacific and the 2015 Global Anti-corruption Report.

To request a copy of the Guide, please email asia.publications@hsf.com