In addition to criminal and civil penalties, companies and individuals who violate the FCPA may face collateral consequences, including:
- suspension or debarment from contracting with the federal government;
- cross-debarment by multilateral development banks;
- the suspension or revocation of certain import/export privileges; and
- loss of US import/export licenses.
In the UK, if a company is found guilty of an offense under either Sections 1 or 6 of the Bribery Act 2010 (bribery of another person or bribery of a foreign official, respectively), the company can face mandatory debarment from the procurement of public works, supply, and service contracts.1 Generally, a company is debarred from contracting with government bodies within the UK if it has been convicted of corruption. If a company is found guilty under Section 7 (failure of commercial organizations to prevent bribery), it can face a discretionary debarment from contracting with government bodies in the UK.2 In either case, a company may provide evidence of its reliability notwithstanding the existence of grounds for debarment, known as “self-cleaning,” so that it will not be excluded from bidding under the UK regulations.3
1 Section 57(1)(d) of the Public Contracts Regulation 2015.
2 Section 57(8)(c) of the Public Contracts Regulation 2015.
3 Section 57(13)-(17) of the Public Contracts Regulation 2015.