December 22 2015
The Federal Government has introduced tough new laws targeting dodgy accounting practices in a bid to tackle bribery and corporate corruption.
Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the legislation would put all Australian businesses on notice. “The Government is committed to ensuring that Australia has tough laws against white-collar crime,” Mr Keenan said.
The offences will carry heavy maximum penalties for individuals of 10 years’ imprisonment and fines of up to $1.8 million. For corporations, the new offences attract significant maximum penalty options: a fine of $18 million, three times the value of the benefit gained from the crime, or 10 per cent of a business’s annual turnover.
The offences will apply both within Australia and overseas, and follow criticism of Australia’s foreign bribery laws by the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention’s Phase Three report.
The Securency banknote printing investigation and its ongoing prosecutions is Australia’s most scandalous foreign bribery case.