Introductory guidance
The original version of this policy was introduced in response to the Bribery Act 2010 (the Act). An updated version was approved by the Council in 2025, which has been renamed the Policy against Bribery, Corruption and Fraud. A new failure to prevent fraud offence was created as part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (the ECCTA). The Policy has been updated to reflect this new legislation, which comes into force on 1 September 2025.
Failing to prevent bribery
The Bribery Act creates four key offences:-
- Active bribery (the offence of offering to bribe another)
- Passive bribery (the offence of accepting or requesting a bribe)
- Bribery of a foreign public official
- Failing to prevent bribery (the offence by a commercial organisation, including the University, of failure to prevent bribery by any person associated with it)
The maximum sentence is 10 years for individuals who commit such offences. Organisations may be liable for an unlimited fine; such fines are likely to be defined with reference to an organisation's annual turnover.
The first three offences apply to individuals as opposed to organisations. The strict liability offence of failing to prevent bribery was brought in under the 2010 Bribery Act. The University can be liable for the actions of any person carrying out services on its behalf, in whatever capacity. This could include any contractors, agents or subsidiary companies.
The Act has extra-territorial reach, so the bribery does not need to take place on UK soil. Further, if organisational failures occur with the consent or connivance of any senior officers, they too could be liable for an offence under the Bribery Act as individuals.
The only defence the University would have if charged with failing to prevent bribery is the defence of adequate procedures. In summary, this means that the University can escape or mitigate liability if it can show that it had sufficient safeguards in place throughout the institution to prevent persons associated with it from undertaking acts of bribery.
Failure to prevent fraud
The ECCTA introduces a new corporate criminal offence of failure to prevent fraud. The University can be held liable for failing to prevent a fraud offence committed by an employee or an associated person (as defined by ECCTA). As with the failure to prevent bribery offence, the failure to prevent fraud offence is extra-territorial and requires a UK nexus for the offence to apply. The University has a defence if it can demonstrate that reasonable procedures are in place to prevent fraud. While the failure to prevent fraud offence is an organisational offence, this does not preclude individuals from being personally liable for the underlying fraud committed.
As an institution it is essential that a robust Anti-Bribery, Corruption and Fraud Policy and appropriate training are put in place.