Australian firms still bribing foreign officials: report

Canberra: Australia's attorney general defended the government's stance on bribery after an international report published on Tuesday said more should be done to stamp out the problem worldwide.

Australia should increase fines imposed on companies found to have bribed foreign officials and ban them from bidding for government contracts, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, recommended in its review of Australia's compliance with a convention aimed at fighting bribery by businesses operating in foreign countries. Despite Australian laws against bribing foreign officials, the Paris-based OECD was concerned companies were still able to claim tax deductions for so-called "facilitation payments."

Such payments enable Australian companies to pay foreign government officials for speeding up routine governmental actions such as providing permits or licences and claim the expense as a tax deduction.

But Attorney General Philip Ruddock said there was a difference between paying small facilitation fees and bribing officials.