Dear Peter,

I am CEO of a large UK company.  I am very concerned about the impact of the Bribery Act.  The UK has put in place the most draconian anti-bribery law in the world and the new law will prevent us from entering new markets. What should I do?

Peter’s answer:

I do not believe that the new Bribery Act will prevent anyone from entering new markets and I also do not believe that the Bribery Act is draconian.

Bribery has been illegal for many years in almost all countries worldwide and whilst I am advised that UK law was poorly defined, it was still illegal to bribe people in the UK and overseas.

The Bribery Act does introduce new challenges, especially the need to have and enforce adequate procedures, but I would have advised any Board to implement such controls anyhow.

In my experience you can do business almost anywhere by refusing to engage in corrupt acts and in the few places where this is not possible you must simply walk away and find a better market.

Even in very corrupt countries, in our experience if they want your goods then there will be ways to do clean business.

Peter Lloyd is CEO Mabey Group a world leader in trading ethically in challenging markets