Bribery

Bribery refers to the act of offering, promising, giving, accepting, or requesting any gift, fee, reward, or other benefit to or from any person to persuade them to undertake an action which is dishonest, illegal, or a breach of trust. Bribery can occur directly or indirectly.

Giving or accepting bribes or other improper payments are serious criminal offences and can result in criminal and civil penalties.

Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC) Policy summary

We take a zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption. Our ABC Policy reflects our commitment to:

  • acting honestly, with integrity, and upholding the highest ethical standards in all BNZ activities;
  • zero tolerance for bribery or corrupting payments in any form;
  • complying with applicable anti-bribery and corruption laws in all jurisdictions in which BNZ operates.

BNZ employees and/or third parties acting on behalf of BNZ such as its agents or contractors (BNZ Persons) must not offer, promise, give, accept, or request cash or cash equivalents (for example gift cards, gift certificates, personal or bank cheques), or any other benefit to or from any person (whether a government official or a private individual or entity), to improperly obtain or retain business, secure an improper advantage, influence them to act improperly, or for any other improper purpose.

This prohibition includes:

  • any improper advantage provided to a close family member or other closely connected person of the person being influenced
  • the person being influenced need not directly receive the cash, cash equivalent or any other benefit, and can be unrelated to the person receiving the cash, cash equivalent or any other benefit
  • no ‘facilitation payments’, even if this represents local practice or custom
  • policy requirements regarding:
    • sponsorships, political and charitable donations;
    • dealing with government officials; and
    • employment.

All employees must comply with our Code of Conduct and raise any concerns regarding non-compliance with the ABC Policy.

We maintain processes to enable employees and disclosing persons to raise concerns in confidence, including our independent whistleblower hotline (via Faircall).