Fidlaw Limited

Anti-Bribery Policy

 

The Directors of Fidlaw Limited are proud of the firm’s reputation for acting fairly and ethically, in the UK and abroad.

The firm is founded on a collective commitment to integrity and we will neither offer nor accept bribes.

Before entering any new contractual arrangement the firm will enquire whether the counterparty has an anti-bribery policy. The firm will supply a copy of its own anti-bribery policy and will ask the counterparty whether they understand it and are happy with it.

Where appropriate, the firm will:

·       insist on immediate termination if the firm’s anti-bribery policy is contravened

·       insist on clear payment terms 

·       identify what is being paid for

·       check that what is paid is reasonable for the services provided and that the services provide tangible and measurable benefit

In determining business partners the firm will, on a risk basis and as part of its due diligence, conduct background research on the parties it plans to work with, and give consideration to:

·       obtaining detailed information about the entities it is dealing with, together with their owners, key managers and decision-makers, and their operating and litigation history

·       seeking insight on the background, track records, competencies, potential conflicts of interest, and political / criminal links of individuals with whom we engage

·       gather intelligence from regulators, industry observers, suppliers, competitors, distributors and customers, both former and current

Using a risk-based approach, the firm will seek (as far as possible) to conduct the same due diligence, expect the same standards and implement the same procedures with all existing business partners and associated persons.

 Giving gifts, hospitality or paying of expenses

The firm’s policy is that:

·       Only the Directors may authorise the giving of gifts and hospitality

·       Such matters will be entered in the register and in the firm’s accounts

·       Cash or vouchers will not be given under any circumstances

·       Gifts and hospitality will be offered only to cement good business relations and NEVER as an inducement to influence a business decision

·       Payment of expenses must be for a proper business reason only. Only a Director can authorise payment of a third party’s expenses. Payment of more than £100 whether one-off or cumulative must be reported to COLP. Payment must never be made to influence a business decision.

·       Gifts and hospitality must be appropriate, reasonable and proportionate in scope, and not lavish. You must NEVER give the impression that the recipient is under some obligation to confer business on the firm as a result of accepting the gift

  • Hospitality must involve at least one Director from the firm being present at the event

  • The firm does not make political donations under any circumstances

·       Breach of these rules will be treated as gross misconduct

 Receiving gifts hospitality or payment of expenses

·      The firm’s policy is that

·      Small gifts are acceptable subject to a cash value not exceeding £50 if offered as a ‘thank you’ for good service. Examples include a bouquet of flowers or bottle of wine on successful completion of a transaction

·      Such gifts must be entered in the register and acknowledged to the giver

·      Cash or vouchers must be declined with a polite note explaining why

·      Gifts and hospitality must never be accepted as an inducement to influence a business decision and must be declined in these circumstances

·      Gifts and hospitality from organisations to which a referral of work is possible can be approved by the Directors only and subject to an overriding requirement of transparency and reasonableness. The Directors will consider, amongst other things The SRA Principles

  • the necessity of acting in the best interests of clients

  • the wider public interest

  •   Receiving hospitality is acceptable subject to being reasonable

  • The giver of the hospitality must be present at the event

  • You must not accept hospitality more than twice a year from the same person

  • The gift of hospitality must be entered in the register

  • Hospitality is never acceptable if its purpose is to influence a business decision

  • If you consider that your independence or that of the firm is being compromised then you must decline

  • Never allow yourself to be placed in a compromising situation

  • You must always observe The SRA Principles

  • Breach of these rules will be treated as gross misconduct

Charitable donations are acceptable as long as the purpose is not to influence a business decision. Only the Directors can authorise such a donation.

Referral fees are payable only in accordance with the firm’s policy on such matters from time to time and strictly in accordance with the SRA’s rules. You should consider whether the introducer might have paid a bribe to obtain the work. If there is any possibility of this you must report the matter to COLP for determination before accepting the instructions.

If you have concerns, it is important that you raise them with COLP. COLP will not publish the source of information and the Directors will ensure that anyone reporting concerns will not be victimised or harassed in any way.  Similarly the Directors guarantee that nobody will be penalised for refusing to pay a bribe whether this means a loss of business or otherwise – rather the firm will reward such reports and refusals as the integrity of the firm and its people is not for sale.

Everyone is required to read and familiarise themselves with these procedures (available to everyone on the firm’s computer system) and to raise any queries they might have with COLP. Everyone will receive training on these procedures annually, and all new starters will be trained on the firm’s anti-bribery procedures as part of their induction process.

These procedures will be reviewed as part of the firm’s annual risk review or more frequently if the need arises.

Policy to prevent the criminal facilitation of tax evasion

The Criminal Finances Act 2017 introduces two new offences:

·      failure to prevent criminal facilitation of UK tax evasion (); and

·      failure to prevent criminal facilitation of foreign tax evasion ()

The new offences do not alter what is criminal: but they widen the scope of liability for criminal acts. In practical terms, for a law firm this means that if an employee facilitates tax evasion (already an offence before the Act) the firm can be prosecuted. The offences are strict liability, ie it is not necessary to prove knowledge of the activity by the Directors.

There are three stages to the commission of an offence:

1.    the criminal tax evasion by a taxpayer (either an individual or a legal entity) under existing law. This, typically, would be a client.

2.    the criminal facilitation of the tax evasion by an “associated person” of the relevant body acting in that capacity. This can be an employee or consultant of the firm or anyone acting as an agent for the firm.

3.    the relevant body failed to prevent its representative from committing the criminal facilitation act. The ‘relevant body’ is the firm: HMRC has identified law firms as 

4.    having high risk of exposure.

The firm’s policy is that it will:

·      never facilitate or be involved with tax evasion, whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere;

·      take the matter seriously, to include ownership by senior management, top-down commitments to avoiding involvement in criminal tax evasion, having adequate responses in place, policing them, and to training the team;

·      allocate appropriate resources to the detection and monitoring of risk;

·      give standing instructions to the MLCO to identify and monitor emerging risks, ensuring that they are fed into the firm’s risk register and other risk assessment tools as appropriate;

·      treat the knowing involvement of any employee or consultant in tax evasion as gross misconduct justifying immediate dismissal or termination;

·      report the matter to the SRA and to any other relevant agency;

·      maintain appropriate risk assessments and create procedures proportionate to that perceived risk;

·      train all staff (including Directors) on how to implement the policy and procedures;

·      keep these matters under continuous review, updating and educating the team as and when required

HM Revenue and Customs has produced useful (if lengthy) guidance on the matter. You can access it .

 

Prevention procedure

Because the new offences are strict liability – ie, no knowledge required – the firm would have no defence that it did not know. The firm’s response, therefore, is to put reasonable prevention procedures in place.

 

Risk assessment

MLCO will carry out a risk assessment annually (or more frequently if the circumstances warrant) to assess the firm’s potential exposure. This risk assessment forms a separate, but integral, part of the firm’s overall assessment of exposure to financial crime. Because of strict liability, the firm’s assessments will be robust and will include consideration of the matters set out below. The MLCO will also select files for review against these criteria. The number and nature of files, and the frequency of reviews, will depend on the nature of the work undertaken by the firm at the time.

Country risk (where appropriate) - high levels of secrecy; tax havens.

Sectoral risk – legal sector, financial services, tax advice services.

Transaction risk – complex supply chains, tax advice, politically exposed persons, cash transactions. Note that it is critical that the firm must control the completion money – deposits or other payments not passing through the firm’s client account are to be reviewed carefully.