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ACCA Applied Skills · Corporate and Business Law (Global) · Fraudulent and criminal behaviour

Tovak Ltd pays a small sum to a customs clerk to speed up routine clearance of goods the company is already entitled to import. The clerk's job is to process such goods anyway. How is this payment generally treated under most anti-bribery laws?

The payment is generally treated as a bribe. Modern laws such as the UK Bribery Act give no general exception for facilitation payments, regardless of small size or the clerk's existing duty to process the goods.

  1. AAs a bribe, because facilitation payments are generally not a defence under modern laws such as the UK Bribery ActCorrect
  2. BAs lawful, because the clerk was doing a duty he was already obliged to do
  3. CAs lawful, because the amount was small

Explanation

Facilitation or 'grease' payments to officials are generally still treated as bribes under laws like the UK Bribery Act, with no exception for small amounts or routine duties. Some regimes allow narrow exceptions, but the standard ACCA position is that no general defence exists.

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