Commentary on Sections Section 14: Offences under sections 1, 2 and 6 by bodies corporate etc.
66.Section 14 is aimed at individuals who consent or connive at bribery, contrary to section 1, 2 or 6, committed by a body corporate (of any kind) or Scottish partnership. It does not apply to the offence in section 7.
67.The first step is to ascertain that the body corporate or Scottish partnership has indeed been guilty of an offence under section 1, 2 or 6. That established, the section provides that a director, partner or similar senior manager of the body is guilty of the same offence if he or she has consented to or connived in the commission of the offence. In a body corporate managed by its members, the same applies to members. In relation to a Scottish partnership, the provision applies to partners.
68.It should be noted that in this situation, the body corporate or Scottish partnership and the senior manager are both guilty of the main bribery offence. This section does not create a separate offence of “consent or connivance”.
69.Subsection (3) makes clear that for a “senior officer” or similar person to be guilty he or she must have a close connection to the UK as defined in section 12(4).