The Fight Against Foreign Bribery: Past, Present and Future

The Fight Against Foreign Bribery: Past, Present and Future

• Speaker: Julia Fromholz, Head of the OECD Anti-Corruption Division

The Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions was adopted in 1997 in recognition of the fact that bribery in international business transactions raises significant ethical and political concerns. Such practices impede the establishment of good governance and economic development and distort the dynamics of global competition. The Convention establishes legally binding standards to criminalize bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions and establishes an open-ended, peer-driven monitoring mechanism to ensure thorough implementation of international commitments. Notably, it is the first and only international anti-corruption instrument to emphasize the “supply side” of the bribery transaction – the person or entity offering, promising, or providing a bribe.
The OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions (WGB) has become the global champion of combating foreign bribery. In her Integrity Talk, Julia Fromholz, Head of the OECD Anti-Corruption Division, will reflect on the achievements in the fight against bribery in international business transactions, as well as current and future challenges.

Julia Fromholz is the Head of the Anti-Corruption Division in the OECD’s Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs (DAF). In this role, she leads the OECD’s work on combating bribery in international business and promoting business integrity. The Division is the secretariat to the OECD’s Working Group on Bribery, which monitors implementation of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, a legally binding international agreement, and related instruments. The Division also engages in dialogue and training with businesses, civil society organizations, and non-Member countries to encourage high standards for anti-corruption laws and policies.

Before joining the OECD in 2024, Ms. Fromholz spent twenty years as a rule of law and human rights advocate and civil society executive (Human Rights First, CEELI Institute), professor (Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law), and government official (U.S. Department of State). In these roles, she led policy and program development to promote the rule of law, combat corruption, and protect human rights, with a with a focus on government and business practices that enable abuses. Ms. Fromholz began her career clerking on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and practicing law in San Francisco. An American national, Ms. Fromholz holds a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree in from Harvard.

After registration, you will receive the link to the webinar the day before the event.