Definitions of Fraud, Bribery and Corruption
2.1 The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) defines fraud as
"the intentional distortion of financial statements or other records by persons internal or external to the organisation which is carried out to conceal the misappropriation of assets or otherwise for gain." Put simply, fraud is an act of deception intended for personal gain or to cause a loss to another party. The Fraud Act 2006 defines fraud in three classes:
- False representation
- Failure to disclose information where there is a legal duty to do so
- Abuse of position
2.2 CIPFA defines corruption as the:
"the offering, giving, soliciting or acceptance of an inducement or reward, which may influence the action of any person".
2.3 The Theft Act 1968 defines theft as:
"a person shall be guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it."
2.4 CIPFA defines bribery as
"an inducement or reward offered, promised or provided to gain personal,commercial,regulatory or contractual advantage".
The Bribery Act 2010 contains the following four categories of offence and whilst it was updated in May 2013, these categories of offence remained unchanged:
- offering, promising or giving a bribe to another person;
- equesting, agreeing to receive or accepting a bribe from another person;
- bribing a foreign public official; and
- a corporate offence of failing to prevent bribery.