The Ministry of Justice has welcomed the release of the latest evaluation of New Zealand’s work in addressing bribery.
The OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, which New Zealand adopted in 2001, establishes legally binding standards to criminalise bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions and provides for a range of measures to make this effective.
The OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions has completed its Phase 4 evaluation of New Zealand’s performance. Representatives of the Working Group visited New Zealand in May 2024 as a part of their research and spoke to representatives from government and business, the media, civil society organisations, and the judiciary.
The report is available on the OECD website.(external link)
Alida Mercuri, the Ministry’s General Manager, Criminal Justice Policy, says the evaluation confirms New Zealand’s commitment to addressing this issue.
“We recognise that the Convention is a key tool in fighting the insidious criminal activity of bribery. The evaluation highlights our commitment to implementing the Convention by implementing almost all the recommendations from our last review.
“New Zealand changed the law in 2015 to tighten Crimes Act provisions against the bribery of foreign public officials, and in 2022 passed the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act to allow employees and former employees of any public or private sector organisation to report serious wrongdoing in the workplace.”
Ms Mercuri says the Working Group has also made several recommendations for New Zealand.
“Like many countries, we still face challenges when it comes to detecting foreign bribery carried out by New Zealand-based companies. The Working Group has made a range of recommendations, which the Government will carefully consider before deciding how best to implement them.”