Facilitation payment Definition

GLOSSARY

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What does Facilitation payment mean?

A term for small payments other than a fee paid directly to a public official sometimes legal but often counting as a bribe.

Facilitation payments, also known as facilitating or grease payments, are generally small amounts of money paid to public officials or others as a means of ensuring that they perform their duty, whether more promptly or at all. In some jurisdictions such payments are customary and legal (eg they are permitted in certain circumstances by the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act). However, they may amount to bribery under the Bribery Act 2010.

View the related checklists about Facilitation payment

Bribery prevention—UK businesses—checklist

Bribery prevention—UK businesses—checklist Bribery prevention procedures should be informed by the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) six principles: • proportionate procedures • top-level commitment • risk assessment • due diligence • communication, including training • monitoring and review ABC procedures • Has your organisation got a clearly defined anti bribery and corruption (ABC) compliance programme which is proportionate to the size of your organisation, the nature and complexity of your business and the type and nature of persons associated with your organisation and the business it undertakes? A compliance programme includes internal systems and procedures to ensure that the company and its employees comply with legal requirements, internal policies and procedures. Any programme must be appropriate for the field in which the company operates, proportionate, risk-based and regularly reviewed. For more information, see Practice Note: Summary of SFO's bribery guidance and policies—SFO guidance on evaluating compliance programmes. • Is the organisation’s compliance programme supported by a clear and well understood code of ethics? This code of ethics should reflect the core...

Bribery prevention—overseas partners—checklist

Bribery prevention—overseas partners—checklist This is a Checklist for overseas partners on how to prevent bribery. Policies and procedures • Has the company got a clear, robust and pragmatic code of ethics which explicitly refers to a zero tolerance of bribery and corruption? • Is this code of ethics supported by proportionate policies? Is there top level commitment to these policies from the Board and does an appropriately experienced senior officer of the company oversee the anti-bribery policy? ◦ Are the anti-bribery policies and procedures a regular Board meeting agenda item for consideration? ◦ Are the details of the Board's discussions of the anti-bribery policies and procedures fully minuted? ◦ Is there a Board sub-committee with responsibility for overseeing the amendment and enforcement of the anti-bribery policies and procedures? ◦ Does the company’s General Counsel, and the legal/compliance department as a whole (where present), have specific expertise of the anti-bribery legislation and practice? If not, then (a) the company should retain external lawyers with the requisite knowledge; and (b) should consider...

Facilitation payments under the Bribery Act 2010

Facilitating the performance of a duty by public officialsFacilitation payments, also known as facilitating or grease payments, are generally small amounts of money paid to public officials or others as a means of ensuring that they perform their duty, whether more promptly or at all. It can also include the giving of ‘gifts’, such as cigarettes or alcohol. In some jurisdictions such payments are customary and legal (eg they are permitted in certain circumstances by the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977 (FCPA 1977), see Practice Note: The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977 (FCPA 1977) and Bribery Act 2010 (BA 2010) comparison table).Are facilitation payments illegal under BA 2010?Facilitation payments constitute the offering, promising or giving of a financial advantage and amount to bribery, as they are not exempted under Bribery Act 2010 (BA 2010).Active bribery offencesActive bribery is explicitly prohibited by the BA 2010. A facilitation payment made directly or indirectly to a public official, an employee of any organisation or business, anyone in or connected with a...

The Bribery Act 2010—an introductory guide

The Bribery Act 2010 (BA 2010) was passed to ensure the UK’s compliance with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and came into force on 1 July 2011. It was designed to provide an effective legal framework to tackle corruption in both the public and private sectors, modernising the UK’s anti-corruption legislation and replacing the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889–1916. For detailed guidance on historic anti-corruption law, see Practice Notes: Corruption and common law bribery—pre-Bribery Act 2010 [Archived], Pre BA 2010 bribery and corruption—Practicalities [Archived] and Pre-Bribery Act 2010 corruption—sentence tracker [Archived].BA 2010 has major implications for any business that is incorporated or trades in the UK. It applies to bribery committed by it, or on its behalf, anywhere in the world.Offences under the Bribery Act 2010BA 2010 criminalises four distinct types of conduct (offences):•bribing another person•soliciting or accepting a bribe•bribing a foreign public official, and•(for a business only) failing to prevent briberyCommon to each of...

Discover our 6 Practice Notes on Facilitation payment

Policy—anti-bribery and corruption

Policy—anti-bribery and corruption 1 Introduction 1.1 Bribery and corruption remain a major issue in world trade, despite the many dedicated efforts to prevent them. Our legal obligations are primarily governed by the Bribery Act 2010. That Act affects us, as a UK company, if bribery occurs anywhere in our business[es]. 1.2 Corruption and bribery are very damaging to the societies in which they occur. They divert money and other resources from those who need them most and hinder economic and social development. They damage business, not least by increasing the cost of goods and services. 1.3 The Company runs its business[es] with integrity and in an honest and ethical manner. All of us must work together to ensure that our [business remains OR businesses remain] untainted by bribery or corruption. This policy is a crucial element of that effort. This policy is the personal responsibility of [enter position, eg the CEO], it has the full support of the Company’s board, and it is [enter position, eg the...

Anti-bribery—overseas partner/joint venture due diligence form

Anti-bribery—overseas partner/joint venture due diligence form 1 Screening Requirement Further comment or actions identified ☐ Consider the level of bribery risk associated with:—the country within which the prospective partner operates;—the type of business it is; and—the risks associated with both these variables. [Insert any comments or action points identified] ☐ Identify the latest Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index rating for that country. [Insert any comments or action points identified] ☐ Make enquiries as to the relevant civil/criminal law of the particular country to identify any significant differences to UK law (eg legality of facilitation payments). [Insert any comments or action points identified] ☐ Make enquiries as to whether the potential partner has a reputation for bribery of if they have ever been investigated, prosecuted, convicted or debarred for bribery offences. [Insert any comments or action points identified] ☐ Consider whether reciprocal anti-bribery agreements or 'boilerplate' clauses have been exchanged or incorporated into your contracts. [Insert any comments or action points identified] ☐ Consider whether licences or certificates have...

Dive into our 5 Precedents related to Facilitation payment

Employment weekly highlights—11 January 2024

This edition of Employment weekly highlights includes: (1) a speech from the Deputy President of the Supreme Court on the law and artificial intelligence, (2) a video looking ahead to the employment legislation due to come into force in the first half of 2024, (3) analysis by Paul Donnelly, Samara Hussain and Dalbinda Gill of DWF Law LLP of a High Court judgment on vicarious liability relating to sexual assaults by a vicar, (4) new guidance from the government on holiday pay and entitlement, (5) analysis of the Court of Appeal decision that a one-off payment paid in recognition of changes to a pension scheme is subject to income tax and national insurance contributions, (6) an EAT judgment relating to written grievances, Acas uplift and contractual terms limiting loss, (7) a decision from the Inner House of the Court of Session on whether future unknown claims under the Equality Act 2010 can be waived in a settlement agreement, (8) guidance from the Law Society on a new video hearings service,...

Private Client weekly highlights—11 January 2024

This week’s edition of Private Client highlights includes: (1) UK government consults on transparency of land ownership involving trusts; (2) Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council v KB, in which the Court of Protection considered the evidential criteria in establishing ‘unsoundness of mind’ in an application to authorise a care package resulting in deprivation of liberty; (3) Revenue and Customs Commissioners v E.On UK plc, in which the Court of Appeal ruled that a one-off payment paid in recognition of changes to a pension scheme was subject to income tax and NICs; (4) Pierce v Barton, which considered limitation periods in relation to an ambiguous testamentary gift of a leasehold property charged with a loan from the deceased; (5) Companies House’s announcement about changes to be introduced from March 2024 following ECCTA 2023; (6) the Home Office’s guidance on money laundering and reporting obligations; (7) Mrs S, CAS-45582-S0J0, which concerned a disputed death benefit payment and serves as a reminder of the difficulty in overturning the exercise of a trustee discretion, and...

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