It is important to know that prohibitions of bribery do not concern only monetary bribes. Instead, they involve anything of value or any benefit that can exert undue influence on a public official who has discretion over providing a business advantage.
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Non Monetary Forms of Bribery |
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| · Travel and lodging not directly related to business activities (such as providing for a detour to a tourist destination on a business trip or paying expenses for a government official’s family members) | |
| · Providing excessive (value and frequency) gifts and entertainment | |
| · Hiring a government official’s relative | |
| · Making a charitable contribution, even to a bona fide charity, if that contribution benefits a foreign official or is part of a quid pro quo | |
SOURCE: BRIBERY & CORRUPTION, (ED.) JONATHAN PICKWORTH AND DEBORAH WILLIAMS, GLOBAL LEGAL GROUP, 2013
All these manifestations can also be met by employees in various small and medium-sized enterprises.
The anti-corruption compliance program can help the organizations to prevent these manifestations.
Notably, there is already a Draft Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, which provides for criminal liability for legal entities. In parallel, it is envisaged that such liability will be avoided if legal persons have taken appropriate measures and this may be the basis for implementation of the anti-corruption compliance program.
This material has been prepared in the scope of the “Armenia: Promoting Anti-Corruption Conduct and Reforms” Project implemented by the “Center for International Private Enterprise”, the “Armenian Lawyers’ Association” NGO, the “Corporate Governance Center” NGO and the “Yerevan Chamber of Commerce and Industry” with financial support of the National Endowment for Democracy. The project is implemented as a co-financing to the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” action implemented with the financial support of the European Union by a Consortium comprising the “Armenian Lawyers’ Association” NGO, the “Armenian Center for Democratic Education-CIVITAS” NGO, the “International Center for Human Development” NGO, the “SME Cooperation Association” NGO, the Union of Communities of Armenia, as well as “Agora Central Europe” NGO (Czech Republic). The contents of this material are the sole responsibility of the “Armenian Lawyers’ Association” NGO and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the National Endowment for Democracy and the European Union.
