The London Olympics in 2012 will be a test of strength, agility and endurance. That’s just be for the corporate sponsors trying to comply with the UK’s Bribery Act.
Unlike the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK’s Bribery Act applies equally to payments made to foreign government officials as it does to payment made to domestic companies. Should a potential bribery case arise under the Bribery Act, the only defense of the organization is to show that it had “adequate procedures” in place to stop bribery. Guidance on what are “adequate procedures” will not be promulgated until at least early 2011.
It is estimated that £100m will be spent on hospitality during 2012 London Olympic games. It will be a compliance headache for companies with hospitality tents, events and other rewards for customers.
Here in Massachusetts, you can’t offer a public official tickets to a playoff game or World Series game. That’s true even if the official pays for the ticket. It’s considered special access and you are getting a benefit of access that is not available to the general public.
If you take that same position, maybe corporate sponsors should only be handing out tickets to Olympic events that are not sold-out. That sounds silly. But it may be one of the challenges faced with corporate sponsors at the London Olympics in 2012.
Sources:
- London 2012: the Olympics will be the ultimate test for the Bribery Act By John Abbott in the Telegraph
- Ethics and Baseball Tickets – prior post on Compliance Building
