The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Group on Bribery (WGB) released a statement on April 22, 2020, reaffirming its commitment to the fight against foreign bribery in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The OECD WGB noted that the economic and public health issues created by the pandemic can lead to an increase in corruption. It further noted that there have been significant corruption cases in the health care industry, and that such corruption during a global health crisis could lead to significant health problems by diverting medicine and equipment away from their intended purposes.
The OECD WGB called on all 44 parties to the Anti-Bribery Convention as well as all countries around the world to reaffirm their commitment to fighting bribery. Toward that end, the OECD WGB committed to examine how the coronavirus pandemic will affect foreign bribery and forge solutions to help countries strengthen their anti-bribery systems.