On 13 July 2017, Sorainen counsel Darius Raulušaitis participated in a meeting, organised by the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice, with a working group from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on bribery in international business transactions.
The discussion was one of a series of meetings between OECD experts and representatives of the Lithuanian private and public sectors, during which information was collected to assess Lithuania. Assessment is one of the mandatory stages for Lithuania to join the OECD in 2018. The assessment will examine Lithuania’s legal and institutional capacity for fighting bribery in international business transactions and comprehensively analyse practical implementation.
Among participants in the discussion with the OECD working group were members of the Lithuanian bar association, Lithuanian researchers specialising in criminal law, and representatives of law firms. Among the main topics discussed were:
- awareness of foreign bribery and the Anti-Bribery Convention,
- foreign bribery offence and defences,
- sanctions for corruption offences, and
- terminating foreign bribery proceedings, including release from criminal liability for confession, cooperation, self-reporting and compensation
Becoming a member of the OECD is important not only for Lithuanian institutions but also for the business sector trading with foreign markets. The OECD has considerable experience and know-how in fighting corruption and offers an opportunity for Lithuania to become acquainted with and implement the most effective and advanced methods for exposing, investigating and preventing bribery in international business transactions and other corruption-related criminal activities.
