By Jaclyn Jaeger2021-02-03T21:41:00+00:00
The last few months have brought developments on the anti-corruption front in some of the world’s largest and most corrupt regions, making it a good time for multinational companies to refresh their global anti-corruption compliance program.
In a recent Webcast, a panel of anti-corruption experts with law firm Gibson Dunn shared some insights into these developments. Specific regions discussed included China, India, Latin America, and Africa.
China
On Dec. 26, 2020, the National People’s Congress of China amended the country’s criminal law by, among other things, significantly increasing the sentencing of private individuals (referred to as “non-state functionaries”) who are convicted of corruption, including taking or offering bribes and embezzling company assets. Unlike “state functionaries” under Chinese law, non-state functionaries—generally, low- or mid-level employees of government agencies, state-owned enterprises, and private enterprises—are not deemed to perform “public functions” and, thus, historically have been subject to lighter sentencing. That will no longer be the case when the new amendments take effect March 1.