ABSTRACT
Chapters 5 adopts a qualitative approach in order to shed light on what happens beyond the formal legal framework. Numbers and other statistical data are important and can indicate patterns and help to compare enforcement trends, their validity, however, is limited because of the complex institutional dimension of foreign anti-bribery enforcement. Chapter 5 explains how foreign anti-bribery cases are structured, provides an overview of the enforcement activity in the US, the UK and Germany, and an in-depth case study of foreign anti-bribery enforcement practice in three “classic” enforcement schemes, including Siemens, Bonny Island, and BAE Systems.
The chapter explains how the enforcement of foreign anti-bribery legislation does not rely only on the provisions of the OECD Convention but operates within a broad substantive and procedural context. The chapter also investigates how the most relevant legal concepts such as jurisdiction and indirect bribery function within that broader context, and how the discretion of national enforcement authorities is exercised.
