Ahead of South Africa reporting to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in June 2027 on its implementation of recommendations to detect foreign bribery cases, the OECD Working Group on Bribery says the country has already made progress in this regard.

This progress has been made despite a period of severe undermining of the law and weakening of South Africa’s law enforcement institutions during a period of State capture.

OECD’s Phase 4 evaluation of South Africa’s implementation of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions shows that the country has started cooperating with other parties to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention to sanction companies for transnational corruption tied to State capture.

The review suggests that the resilience and commitment of individual government and law enforcement officials, working in a multi-agency approach, has contributed to this progress.

To consolidate what it has achieved and avoid a repetition of the past, South Africa should now enhance its legal framework and institutional capacity to combat foreign bribery.

South Africa has opened investigations into 18 new foreign bribery allegations since its Phase 3 evaluation in 2014.

Authorities have investigated foreign bribery allegations more proactively, using more complex investigative techniques and seeking mutual legal assistance from other countries.

In 2019, South Africa started its first foreign bribery court proceedings but still faces enforcement challenges in its 14 ongoing investigations.

“Authorities need to expand the range of sources used to detect foreign bribery, find better ways to obtain evidence from other countries in the region, and secure sanctions against both companies and individuals,” OECD states.

In its Phase 4 report, the working group welcomes reforms to South Africa’s whistleblower legislation. It finds that the development of an innovative non-trial resolution mechanism could, with further clarifications, facilitate foreign bribery enforcement.

South Africa has also developed public-private partnerships to address capacity issues within law enforcement.

To improve effectiveness in preventing, detecting and enforcing the foreign bribery offence, the working group recommends that South Africa:

• Hold companies and individuals liable for foreign bribery and related offences;
• Enhance its efforts to promptly detect foreign bribery allegations;
• Better protect whistleblowers who report foreign bribery from retaliation, including financial, professional and physical harms;
• Ensure more transparent appointments for investigators and prosecutors to prevent the risk of undue influence in foreign bribery cases;
• Increase operational and financial autonomy for the investigators and prosecutors;
• Strengthen its framework for sanctioning foreign bribery with non-trial resolutions; and
• Ensure it has the appropriate framework for sanctioning companies for foreign bribery.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions comprises the 46 parties that have signed its convention on anti-bribery, including South Africa.

The group has overseen the implementation of the convention by its member States since its establishment in 1994.