A guest post from Robert Wyld (an attorney at Johnson Winter & Slattery in Sydney). Wyld is the Australia Expert for FCPA Professor.

This update covers a range of important developments in Australia and overseas in the area of foreign bribery policy, commercial crime, investigations and regulation to 19 December 2018. The year has been mixed with statutory reforms progressing at a snail’s pace while the Australian Government has been brought kicking to the table for a national Integrity Commission, which surprisingly, protects parliamentarians from public hearing or dare it be said, public scrutiny. The year ended with the publication of the court cases in the long-running Securency banknote printing foreign bribery scandal. While some convictions by way of guilty pleas were achieved, the remaining prosecutions spectacularly collapsed with the High Court of Australia sternly criticising investigative agencies for egregious illegal conduct which irreparably prejudiced the rights of certain accused to a fair trial.

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Today’s post is from Robert Wyld (an attorney at Johnson Winter & Slattery in Sydney).

Wyld is the Australia Expert for FCPA Professor.

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This year-end review covers a range of important developments in Australia and overseas in the area of foreign bribery policy, investigations and regulation to 20 December 2017. It has been a busy year for politicians (creating new laws), regulators (pushing for easier ways to investigate and prosecute) and enforcers (Australia’s first foreign bribery convictions). And of course, and very much deserved, much enhanced private sector whistleblower protections are inching ever closer to reality.

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