OECD praises Swiss anti-bribery measures

Switzerland has earned good marks for its efforts to prevent the bribery of foreign public officials.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released its latest country monitoring report and recommendations on Thursday.

The OECD commended Switzerland for prosecuting the first case in which criminal sanctions were applied to a company for bribery.

In November, Alstom Network Schweiz was found guilty of failing to prevent the bribery of foreign officials in Latvia, Tunisia and Malaysia.

The OECD also praised Switzerland for its proactive stance in the seizure, confiscation and restitution of illicitly obtained assets and referred to new Swiss legislation requiring federal employees to report crimes and irregularities.

However, the OECD expressed its regret that few convictions had been issued despite numerous investigations conducted into foreign bribery.

It recommended that Switzerland provide specific training for law enforcement authorities on how corporate liability may apply in bribery cases.

The OECD also suggested that companies found guilty of bribing foreign public officials be excluded from public procurement contracts or official development assistance.

Another recommendation was that Switzerland enact legislation to protect whistle-blowers.