Middle East anti-corruption regulations legal guide 2018

The Middle East region presents various anti-corruption challenges for businesses. These include difficulty in identifying politically exposed persons, prevalence of intermediaries in the conduct of business relationships and a widespread difficulty in accessing company ownership and financial records.

More recently, the enforcement environment is tightening, with legislation such as the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act representing key tools for punishing corrupt activity. What many companies doing business in the Middle East may not appreciate is the extent of domestic anti-corruption legislation and how those laws are applied in practice. Enforcement activity is on the increase.

It is therefore essential for companies and individuals currently operating (or those who would like to operate) in the Middle East to have knowledge of anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) offences.

All the jurisdictions in this guide have laws in place regulating bribery and corruption activities which often carry with them severe financial and penal punishments. Each chapter focuses on a different Middle East jurisdiction and explains how the legislative framework regulating bribery and corruption activities operates, including the powers of local law enforcement and regulators to investigate and prosecute offenders, the sanctions that can be imposed, and a summary of what is on the anti-bribery and corruption horizon.

As Middle East countries continue to introduce new laws, regulations and initiatives to help in the fight against bribery and corruption, we hope you find this guide both timely and useful.

We extend our warmest thanks to all of our contributors as well as our own lawyers for their extensive work on this guide.

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For further information on how the legislation and regulations referenced in this guide may impact you and your business, please see our contacts below.