Beware toll of cross-border anti-graft laws

MORE and more Singapore corporations are expanding overseas. Coming as they do from a business environment that is acknowledged around the world to be among the least corrupt, it is imperative for them to be ever on their guard against inadvertent breaches of both local and foreign anti-bribery legislation.

The view from Singapore

Singapore's Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act contain a list of corruption offences. To date, most prosecutions in Singapore have been against individuals rather than corporations.

Earlier this year, in a case brought by a company against its former director for breach of his fiduciary duties, the Singapore Court of Appeal in Ho Kang Peng v Scintronix Corp Ltd (formerly TTL Holdings Ltd) noted that while a di…