The UK's Serious Fraud Office, France's Parquet National
Financier (PNF) and the Office of the Attorney General of
Switzerland (OAG) today affirmed their shared commitment to
tackling international bribery and corruption at an event in
London.
The agencies also founded a new taskforce to strengthen
collaboration.
All three countries have wide-reaching anti-bribery legislation
with jurisdiction to prosecute criminal conduct that occurs
overseas, if there is a link to the prosecuting country.
The taskforce will strengthen existing ties between these
countries and lead to greater joint working on cases, as well as
sharing of insight and expertise.
The statement can be seen here.
Nick Ephgrave, Director of the Serious Fraud Office,
said:
The commitment we have made today reaffirms our individual and
collective commitment to tackling the pernicious threat of
international bribery and corruption, wherever it occurs.
We will make use of every power and partnership available to
confront this criminality. This taskforce is an important step
forward in our approach.
Jean-François Bohnert, Head of the Parquet National
Financier, said:
I am delighted that ten years of operational cooperation between
the PNF, SFO and OAG are developing today into the setting up of
a prosecutorial taskforce.
This taskforce will definitely strengthen our current cooperation
in order to fight more efficiently against bribery and corruption
in individual cases.
Stefan Blättler, Attorney General of the Swiss
Confederation, said:
Within the framework of this cooperation, we will be able to help
ensure that fraud and crime can be better combated in the future.
This task force is of great importance for Switzerland.
Solicitor General KC MP said:
I welcome the SFO's commitment to working even more closely with
their French and Swiss partners, including setting up this new
taskforce to tackle international bribery and corruption.
Through strong international partnerships, we will be able to
robustly tackle cross-border economic crime and protect our
future prosperity.
