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CCCA_V5No4_AntiBribery-FIN_CCCA_V1No1_DriversSeat-FIN.qxd 11/21/11 11:51 AM Page 18 Cover Christa Wessel Chief legal officer McCain Foods Inc. Toronto bribed the mayor of a small town in Mexico.In early September, it was reported Montreal-based engineering giant SNC-Lavalin’s offices near Toronto were raided in connection with allegations of corruption related to a project in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, the introduction of the U.K.’s Bribery Act has ramped up compliance requirements for any company doing any type of business in or through the U.K. For example, an Australian oil and gas company that has assets in Africa, but is raising money in the U.K., must comply with the legislation. “The act itself is quite worrisome for companies because it sets a higher bar than the Canadian or U.S. legislations,” Klotz points out.The law goes further than in the U.S. and Canada in several respects: it prohibits facilitation payments (minor bribes paid to officials to expedite jobs they were going to do anyway); it covers bribery of not only public officials, but private citizens and corporations; it creates a corporate offence for failing to prevent bribery; it makes it illegal to receive a bribe; and it sets much higher standards for what properly can be considered cor- porate hospitality. “It sets the highest standards in the world,” says Richie Clark, a Canadian lawyer who is a partner and head of capital markets with FoxWilliams LLP in London,England.Canadian companies need to be concerned because the Act“applies to British citizens, no matter where they are; anyone in the U.K., regardless of nationality; or a U.K. company doing business anywhere.” Even if a company doesn’t directly do business in the U.K., it Amita Kent should still consider adopting measures to comply with these Regional lead counsel Europe and Canada, laws because they extend “not just to companies and their Merck Canada Inc. employees, but to agents and joint-venture partners,” Clark SPYROS BOURBOULIS Montreal adds. “So, companies doing business internationally need to 18