Portugal Makes Progress in Combating Foreign Bribery, But More Efforts Needed

Lisbon, Portugal - The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released a report praising Portugal’s efforts to combat foreign bribery, but noted that more needs to be done to uncover and prosecute these crimes.

Progress Made in Enacting Laws

According to the OECD’s Phase 2 examination, Portugal has made significant progress in enacting laws to criminalize the bribery of foreign public officials. Law 13/2001, which entered into force in 2001, introduced the offence of “Active Corruption against International Business” and covers bribes to both national and foreign officials.

Awareness of Domestic Corruption Issues

The report found that while Portugal has a high level of awareness of domestic corruption issues and efforts to combat it, there is limited evidence of concerted efforts by the authorities to uncover and combat bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions.

Limited Efforts in Investigating and Prosecuting Cases

Despite its small economy, Portugal’s authorities have been urged to take a more proactive approach to disclosing, investigating, and prosecuting foreign bribery cases. While there have been ten investigations into suspicions of corruption in international business transactions over the past five years, eight of these related to acts of bribery by foreign companies against Portuguese civil servants.

Positive Developments

The remaining two cases involved foreign public officials, both of which were initiated following requests for mutual legal assistance (MLA). While this is an encouraging development, more needs to be done to ensure that these crimes are properly investigated and prosecuted.

Key Areas Requiring Further Attention

The OECD’s report has identified several key areas that require further attention, including:

• Issues related to the treatment of certain elements of the offence of foreign bribery in practice
• The need for a more proactive approach to disclosing, investigating, and prosecuting these crimes

Future Monitoring

Portugal’s efforts to combat foreign bribery are being closely monitored by the OECD, and the country will be required to report back on its progress in the future.