International Instruments
Switzerland supports various international instruments aimed at fighting corruption and is actively involved in the further development of these measures.
The OECD Convention on the fight against the bribery of foreign public officers in international business transactions
The 38 industrialized nations of the OECD and eight further states (Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru, Romania, Russia and South Africa) have signed the OECD Convention on combating bribery of foreign officials in international business transactions (hereafter “OECD Convention”). On this basis they have amended their legislation and made the bribery of foreign public officials a punishable offence. A far-reaching monitoring procedure has been set up to ensure that the OECD Convention is implemented in all State Parties. SECO has the lead in representing Switzerland in the relevant OECD committee (see below). 2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the OECD Convention.
Evaluations of Switzerland by the OECD
The OECD Working Group on Bribery regularly conducts reviews of State Parties to the OECD Convention. These reviews serve the purpose of assessing the level of implementation of the Convention. In 2018, Switzerland for the fourth time went through such a review (referred to as phase 4 evaluation). In 2018 and 2020 the OECD addressed recommendations to Switzerland with a view to combatting foreign bribery. The OECD praised Switzerland's dynamism in procecuting and convicting individuals and companies for bribery of foreign public officials. It also commended the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) for its role in detecting cases of corruption abroad in connection with money laundering. At the same time, the OECD called for stricter penalties for companies as well as greater legal safeguards for whistleblowers in the private sector.
