UK firm self-reports bribery, pays penalty

A British freight company today took the unusual step of reporting bribery within its own ranks and agreed to pay 2.2 million pounds penalty.
Glasgow-based Braid Logistics said it had "discovered potentially dishonest activities" connected to two freight- forwarding contracts in 2012.
An investigation showed breaches of the UK Bribery Act 2010, which forbids bribes being paid to gain business.
The firm then went on to sack the employees who were involved and informed the UK Crown Office of the wrongdoing.
"The activities uncovered in this case were the unauthorised actions of a small number of individuals who are no longer employed by the company. Braid UK's rapid and thorough response to these pursuits and the wholesale changes we have now made in our company's systems led to our case being conducted on civil grounds," Alasdair Davidson, group financial director at Braid Logistics, said.

"During this process we have worked closely with the (Crown Office) Civil Recovery Unit which has commended Braid UK for its cooperation in self-reporting," he added.

According to the BBC, Braid's investigation found that one of its staff had set up an account which was used by an employee of a customer to buy holidays, hotels and cash.
In the second case, a profit-sharing arrangement was set up which rewarded the director of a company for placing orders with Braid.
The UK's stringent Bribery Act, introduced over five years ago, forbids companies based in the UK from paying bribes to gain business anywhere in the world.