Australia
There are no responsibilities in Australia to report financial irregularities or actual or suspected anti-corruption law violations, with the exception of ongoing disclosure responsibilities on a listed corporation. Except in New South Wales, there are no requirements that a person (business or individual) report or reveal the commission or prospective commission of a crime. In New South Wales, if a person knows or believes that another person has committed a serious indictable offence, and has information that could aid in the arrest, prosecution, or conviction of that person, but fails to report that information to a member of the New South Wales Police Force without reasonable excuse, that person is guilty of an offence.
Belgium
Belgian law does not provide for a centralized system of whistleblowing or self-reporting. Corrupt practices are investigated and prosecuted primarily as a result of police and prosecutor efforts, as well as complaints from potential victims.
France
There are no requirements in French law that force firms to disclose any anti-corruption violations, and there are no leniency mechanisms for such disclosures. Any authority, public officer, or civil worker who becomes aware of an offence under Article 40, paragraph 2 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure while doing his or her duties must immediately report it to the public prosecutor. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, on the other hand, has criticized the enforcement of this reporting, claiming that “no warning and reporting mechanism (had) been put in place in government agencies to enable comprehensive enforcement of the provisions of Article 40, paragraph 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,” and that “the interpretation of the modalities has been inconsistent.”
Germany
If internal company anomalies pointing to corruption become obvious, there is no legal requirement to report them to the authorities. Regardless of whether or not a disclosure obligation exists, the corporation must put an end to the misbehavior and take the required legal action against the individual in question. Companies, on the other hand, are required to remedy previous erroneous tax statements (Section 153 of the Tax Act). Wrongful tax declarations might happen as a result of corruption.
Ireland
Withholding information from An Garda Siochána (the Irish police) that one knows or believes could be of material assistance in preventing the commission of a relevant offence by any other person or in securing the apprehension, prosecution, or conviction of any other person for a relevant offence is illegal under Section 19 of the Criminal Justice Act 2011. Schedule 1 of the 2011 statute (as amended) lists the relevant offenses, which include some corruption offenses. A firm may be required to disclose financial irregularities or suspected anti-corruption offences to An Garda Siochána, depending on the circumstances — for example, if they are perpetrated by an employee. However, Section 19 does not compel a person to provide information that could lead to his or her incrimination; the Irish Supreme Court recently clarified this in Sweeney v Ireland [2019], which contained a constitutional challenge to a provision similar to Section 19.
Switzerland
There is no specific reporting obligation for anti-corruption and bribery laws infractions or other financial irregularities; only general reporting obligations exist in regulated industries such as financial services. These responsibilities exist in terms of compliance as well as reputational and operational issues. Financial services providers monitored by FINMA, for example, are required to notify regulators in the event of a regulatory breach. The same is true for the SIX Swiss Exchange, which is subject to so-called “ad hoc” notification. Potential anti-money laundering violations must also be reported to the Swiss Federal Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS, www.fedpol.admin.ch/fedpol/en/home/kriminalitaet/geldwaescherei.html). MROS serves as a middleman and conduit between financial institutions and law enforcement agencies. It receives and analyses information regarding potentially unlawful money laundering activities before relaying it to law enforcement agencies. Article 9 (reporting requirements of financial intermediaries) and Article 23 (money laundering reporting) of the Federal Act on Combating Money Laundering in the Financial Sector, as well as Article 305ter of the Swiss Criminal Code, provide the legal foundation (SCC). UK An internal inquiry should be conducted by any company that detects financial irregularities or misconduct. It should either carry out the investigation itself or seek assistance from experts who have conducted such investigations before. Only by conducting an internal investigation can a corporation identify if wrongdoing has occurred and, if so, the likely cause and scope of the wrongdoing. Financial irregularities or corruption are not required by law to be reported. An internal investigation, on the other hand, can be useful in assisting the company in determining whether a situation has to be reported to the authorities and, if so, how and when to do so. The findings of such an inquiry, together with legal assistance from experts in the field, can assist a corporation maintain its composure in dealings with the authorities and seek the best possible solution, rather than accepting a punitive conclusion. The EU Fourth Directive on Money Laundering was implemented in June 2017 by the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017. Financial irregularities must be reported by UK companies that are subject to the legislation. Money laundering may be carried out as a result of bribery, even if it has nothing to do with bribery. The EU’s Fifth Money Laundering Directive is planned to take effect in 2020. Companies and directors are obligated to report corrupt acts to auditors, shareholders, or regulators under specific legislation or rules. Companies in the regulated industry, as well as its officers, may be obligated under their regulatory duties to notify a violation or accusation of wrongdoing.
United Arab Emirates
Person is required to report a crime under Article 274 of the Federal Penal Code. It is also prohibited to deliberately neglect to report money laundering, criminal organization financing, or terrorism financing.
United States of America
Companies are not required to report financial irregularities or actual or prospective anti-corruption crimes under US law. However, the government considers self-reporting when establishing an appropriate sentence in both civil and criminal FCPA cases (DOJ and SEC, “A Resource Guide to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” at 54 (2012, updated 2015)).