CCEP Anti-Corruption Practices 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A government relations employee proposes hiring the son of a senior customs official as an intern. What anti-corruption risk does this raise?
- Nepotism within the company's own hiring policies
- A potential 'thing of value' to a foreign official implicating anti-bribery laws (Correct answer)
- A conflict of interest only if the intern is paid
- A reputational risk with no legal compliance implications
Correct answer: A potential 'thing of value' to a foreign official implicating anti-bribery laws
Hiring relatives of government officials can constitute providing a 'thing of value' to a foreign official under the FCPA if done to obtain or retain business advantage.
Question 2: What is the significance of the 'adequate procedures' defense under Section 7 of the UK Bribery Act?
- It fully immunizes a company from prosecution if any compliance program exists
- It provides a complete defense if the company can demonstrate proportionate anti-bribery procedures were in place (Correct answer)
- It reduces criminal penalties by 50% for companies with written policies
- It shifts liability entirely to the employee who committed the bribery
Correct answer: It provides a complete defense if the company can demonstrate proportionate anti-bribery procedures were in place
The 'adequate procedures' defense under the UK Bribery Act provides a complete defense to the corporate failure-to-prevent offense if the company demonstrates proportionate, risk-based procedures were in place.
Question 3: Which of the following is the best indicator that an anti-corruption compliance program has 'tone at the top'?
- Senior leaders sign an annual anti-corruption certification
- Senior leaders actively communicate the importance of compliance and visibly model ethical behavior (Correct answer)
- The CEO sends a compliance reminder email once per year
- The board approves the anti-corruption policy annually
Correct answer: Senior leaders actively communicate the importance of compliance and visibly model ethical behavior
Genuine tone at the top requires active, consistent behavioral modeling by senior leaders, not merely formal certifications or periodic communications.
Question 4: A company operating in a country with an anti-bribery law that conflicts with local business customs should:
- Follow local custom since it reflects the actual legal environment
- Apply the stricter of the home country or host country anti-bribery standards (Correct answer)
- Seek a legal opinion permitting deviation from home country standards
- Limit anti-corruption controls to the home country operations only
Correct answer: Apply the stricter of the home country or host country anti-bribery standards
When operating across jurisdictions, companies should apply the stricter applicable standard to avoid liability under any of the potentially applicable anti-bribery laws.
Question 5: What is a 'red flag' in anti-corruption due diligence on third parties?
- A third party that operates only in low-risk jurisdictions
- A third party that requests payment to undisclosed accounts or in cash (Correct answer)
- A third party that insists on formal written contracts
- A third party whose principals have no prior government experience
Correct answer: A third party that requests payment to undisclosed accounts or in cash
Requests for payment to undisclosed accounts or in cash are classic corruption red flags suggesting funds may be used for illicit purposes.
Question 6: Under the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, signatory countries are obligated to:
- Create a unified global anti-bribery enforcement agency
- Criminalize the bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions (Correct answer)
- Require domestic companies to report all payments to foreign governments
- Impose trade sanctions on countries that do not adopt anti-bribery laws
Correct answer: Criminalize the bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions
The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention requires signatory countries to criminalize active bribery of foreign public officials in international business, creating aligned national laws.
Question 7: Which compliance control best addresses the risk of employees circumventing anti-corruption policies through personal expense reimbursements?
- Requiring all employees to use corporate credit cards for business expenses
- Implementing a pre-approval process for unusual expense categories combined with audits of reimbursements (Correct answer)
- Capping all employee reimbursements at $50 per transaction
- Requiring that receipts be submitted within 24 hours of expenditure
Correct answer: Implementing a pre-approval process for unusual expense categories combined with audits of reimbursements
Pre-approval for unusual expense categories combined with audit sampling of reimbursements creates both preventive and detective controls over potential abuse.
CCEP Anti-Corruption Practices 4
A government relations employee proposes hiring the son of a senior customs official as an intern.
What anti-corruption risk does this raise?