Denmark – complacency and corruption
The National Law Review has highlighted some important issues regarding Denmark’s approach to anti-corruption enforcement, as underscored by the OECD’s most recent report. This article reminds us that even with being perceived as having the best corruption systems internationally, as per Transparency International, Denmark must and should do better in its enforcement regime. The writers note that the Danish government is underreporting anti-corruption crimes, and “[a]s a result of Denmark’s remiss measures, the OECD expresses “concern” over “Denmark’s capacity” to effectuate sanctions in foreign bribery cases. The OECD concludes that Denmark lacks an adequate “enforcement framework”.” This is always troubling, even in the best environments, as cases seem to be overlooked and are not being followed up by the Danish authorities. The article notes that most of the successful anti-corruption prosecutions in Denmark were brought by the United States under its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In three cases, Danish companies were fined over $32 million by the U.S. and as has been noted, the FCPA has been weakened which will weaken the possibility of potential Danish cases. They also addressed concerns regarding whistleblowers, which is also significant.
Why should we care and what can be done? As noted, Denmark is one of the countries that has been successful, as per Transparency International’s scoring, in the belief that corruption is being addressed by its government. If Denmark continues not to address the shortcomings that the OECD have described, then its Transparency International scores will fall, and corruption will grow in such an environment. Additionally, by not strengthening whistleblower protections, this will weaken the possibility of addressing corruption in less transparent ministries, such as health and defense, where significant amounts of government monies are used. Denmark is still clearly in the position to make the needed changes, and it can do more to address these issues, as it would continue to see Denmark in its role as a leader in anti-corruption as it takes OECD’s concerns seriously.
Link:
https://natlawreview.com/article/denmarks-resistance-toward-anti-corruption-enforcement