LONDON – China, India, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia should sign up to the OECD's Anti-Bribery Convention if the fight to end bribery in international business transactions is to succeed, the head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Monday. Angel Gurria said those nations were the only members of the Group of 20 (G20) richest countries that had not joined the 1997 treaty which criminalizes the paying of bribes to foreign public officials to win business deals. “All major economic players must be part of the effort,” Gurria told a conference at the London-based international affairs think-tank Chatham House. “It is imperative that all G20 countries become parties to the OECD anti-bribery convention,” he added. When the Anti-Bribery Convention was launched 17 years ago, its signatories represented 80 percent of world trade and investment flows. Today it represents about 60 percent. Should China, India, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia join the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, its signatories would cover over 75 percent of global trade. — Reuters
