ServiceInvestigations
Anti-bribery and corruption
When the risk is your own company paying to win an advantage, investigate the allegation, check the intermediaries and test your procedures.
When to call us
When to call us
A bribery allegation has surfaced
A complaint that someone acting for the company paid an official or a customer’s staff.
Agents and consultants you cannot explain
Liaison consultants, customs agents or distributors paid more than their work seems to justify.
You are buying a company with government business
Inherited bribery becomes your problem after closing.
The board wants assurance
Would your procedures count as adequate if something went wrong?
What we do
What we do
Fraud is money taken from the company. Bribery is money paid by the company, or someone acting for it, to win an advantage. This page covers the second.
Bribery investigations
Independent investigation of allegations against employees, agents or business partners, with the evidence the board needs to decide and disclose.
Intermediary reviews
Who your agents, consultants and distributors really are, what they do for their fees and where the money goes.
High-risk spend audits
Commissions, gifts, hospitality, donations, CSR spend and facilitation payments tested for corrupt use.
Programme reviews
Your anti-bribery policies, approvals and controls tested against Indian law and, where relevant, the US FCPA and UK Bribery Act.
Pre-deal corruption checks
Bribery exposure in a target’s government contracts, licences and intermediaries before you acquire it.
How we work
How it works
- 01
Assess
We understand where the business meets government and who stands in between.
- 02
Test
Payments, intermediaries and approvals examined against the evidence.
- 03
Investigate
Allegations followed through records, money and interviews.
- 04
Advise
Findings, exposure and the practical controls to put right.
Why Spectra Forensics
Why clients hire us
Indian law now holds a company liable when people acting for it pay bribes, unless it can show adequate procedures. We help you find out where you stand before someone else does.
1,250+ fraud investigations since 2007, and ₹2,000 Cr+ in siphoned funds identified across our cases.
- 01Investigators, not template compliance consultants
- 02Experience with agents, liaison consultants and distributors
- 03Work aligned with Indian, US and UK anti-corruption law
- 04Confidential reporting to the board or general counsel
Questions
Frequently asked questions
01How is anti-bribery work different from a fraud investigation?
In a fraud the company is the victim: money is taken from it, for example through fake vendors or kickbacks to its own staff. In bribery the company is the potential offender: money is paid by the company or its agents to officials or customers to win business, licences or approvals.
02Can a company be liable for a bribe paid by its agent?
Yes. Under the Prevention of Corruption Act as amended in 2018, a company can be liable for bribes paid by people acting on its behalf, unless it shows it had adequate procedures to prevent them.
03Do the US FCPA or UK Bribery Act apply to Indian companies?
They can, where the company or its group has US or UK listings, operations or links. We assess exposure under all three regimes where they apply.
04What happens if you find bribery?
We report the facts to whoever commissioned us, usually the board or general counsel, so they can decide on discipline, disclosure and remediation with their lawyers.
Proof
Case files from this service
Real matters, anonymised. Client names, places and identifying details are withheld.
Client names and identifying details are withheld to protect confidentiality. Specific references and client experiences can be shared on request, with the client’s consent.
Talk to us first
Not sure what you need? Ask us.
Initial guidance is free and confidential. Tell us what has happened, and a senior member of our team will help you decide the right next step, even if that step is not an engagement.
Investigations
Other services in this practice
Confidential consultation
Discuss your matter with a senior expert.
Tell us what has happened. We will listen, advise on immediate next steps, and propose a scope, in strict confidence.