Austria has made important progress in the enforcement of the foreign bribery offence since its Phase 3 evaluation in 2012 and has significantly enhanced resources and expertise for investigations and prosecutions. However, key issues must be addressed to ensure that Austrian authorities can effectively fight foreign bribery, according to a new report by the OECD Working Group on Bribery.
Litigated foreign bribery cases have yielded a high number of acquittals. Enforcement against legal persons in foreign bribery cases is very limited and sanctions for legal persons should be increased. Prosecutorial independence remains a concern from previous evaluation phases.
The 46-country OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions has just completed its Phase 4 evaluation of Austria’s implementation of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and related instruments. In addition to the aspects highlighted above, the report details further areas for improvement of Austria’s effectiveness in preventing, detecting, and enforcing the foreign bribery offence.
The Working Group recommends that, among other things, Austria:
clarify interpretative issues related to the foreign bribery offence and the corporate liability regime
address a concern regarding the statute of limitations to allow adequate time for investigation and prosecution
proactively pursue criminal charges against legal persons
urgently take meaningful steps to revise the current framework to shield prosecutors from undue interference prohibited under Article 5 of the Anti-Bribery Convention
clarify and enhance the framework for non-trial resolutions, and
address foreign bribery risks in the national anti-corruption strategy and improve detection.
The report also notes several positive developments. Resources and expertise available to the law enforcement authorities specialised in anti-corruption have been significantly enhanced. Austria’s practices in providing and seeking mutual legal assistance in criminal matters have improved. Significant changes were also made to Austria’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime. A new general framework for the protection of whistleblowers contains several features that are in line with international standards.
The Working Group adopted the report on Austria on 10 October 2024. The report is part of the Working Group’s fourth phase of monitoring, launched in 2016. Phase 4 looks at the evaluated country’s particular challenges and positive achievements. It also explores issues such as detection, enforcement, corporate liability, and international co-operation, as well as unresolved issues from prior reports. Pages 91-97 of the report contain the Working Group’s recommendations to Austria. Austria will report to the Working Group in two years (i.e., October 2026) on its implementation of all recommendations and its enforcement efforts.
