India
Anti-corruption compliance in India
Companies doing business in India face a corporate bribery offense under Indian law, alongside the U.S. FCPA and, for many groups, the UK Bribery Act. Here is how the pieces fit together.
Compliance guidance, not legal advice.
India’s Prevention of Corruption Act
The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PCA), as amended in 2018, makes it an offense to give or promise an undue advantage to a public servant, and it reaches companies. Section 9 punishes a commercial organization with a fine if a person associated with it gives or promises an undue advantage to a public servant to obtain or retain business or a business advantage. The definition covers bodies incorporated in India and bodies incorporated abroad that carry on business, or part of a business, in India. An associated person is anyone who performs services for or on behalf of the organization, including an employee, agent or subsidiary [PCA].
The organization has a defense if it proves it had adequate procedures to prevent such conduct. The Act says the Central Government is to prescribe guidelines for those procedures, but practitioner commentary published in 2026 reports that none has been notified, so companies need a documented, risk-based program built on international practice [Chambers]. Where a section 9 offense is committed by a commercial organization and is proved in court to have been committed with the consent or connivance of a director, manager, secretary or other officer, that person faces imprisonment of three to seven years and a fine (section 10) [PCA].
Enforcement: CBI and Lokpal
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the main federal agency for bribery and corruption cases involving central government employees and public-sector undertakings [CBI]. The Lokpal, created by the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, handles complaints of PCA offenses against public servants, including ministers, members of Parliament and central government officers, and can refer a matter for investigation by an agency such as the CBI [Lokpal Act]. Since the 2018 amendment, section 17A bars police from conducting any enquiry, inquiry or investigation into an offense alleged against a public servant that relates to a recommendation made or a decision taken in the discharge of official functions without the previous approval of the Union or State government or, for other officials, of the authority competent to remove them. No approval is needed for an arrest on the spot while the person is accepting an undue advantage [PCA]. In January 2026 a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court split on whether section 17A is constitutional and referred the question to a larger bench; we have not found a report of a decision since [Supreme Court].
FCPA, UK Bribery Act and ISO 37001
A company with an Indian business can sit under several regimes at once. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) applies to U.S. persons, issuers of U.S.-listed securities and certain foreign firms that act in furtherance of a corrupt payment within U.S. territory, and U.S.-listed issuers must also keep accurate books and adequate internal accounting controls [FCPA]. Since June 2025, DOJ enforcement guidelines prioritize conduct such as cartel-linked bribery, harm to identifiable U.S. companies and national-security-related corruption [DOJ guidelines]. Prosecutors assess compliance programs against the DOJ’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs, updated in September 2024 [ECCP].
Section 7 of the UK Bribery Act 2010 makes a commercial organization that carries on a business, or part of a business, in the UK guilty if a person associated with it bribes to win business for it, unless it had adequate procedures to prevent that [UKBA s.7]. ISO 37001 (second edition, 2025) sets requirements and guidance for an anti-bribery management system [ISO].
How AS3 helps
AS3 Compliance Consulting advises on FCPA, anti-corruption and compliance programs. For companies with operations in India that means program assessment and gap analysis, third-party due diligence and oversight, and policies, controls, training and monitoring. Engagements are delivered across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The Anti-Corruption Self-Assessment (FCPA, with ISO 37001 mapping) scores your program across 18 elements. It is available by paid license, and access is provided by code after approval. The buttons below only open a request form.
Compliance guidance, not legal advice. For questions of Indian law, consult qualified local counsel.
Sources
- Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 as amended (India Code)
- Chambers and Partners, Anti-Corruption 2026: India, Trends and Developments
- CBI, A Brief History of the CBI (archived cbi.nic.in)
- Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 (lokpal.gov.in)
- Supreme Court of India, Centre for Public Interest Litigation v. Union of India, 2026 INSC 55 (judgment of 13 January 2026)
- U.S. Department of Justice, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit
- U.S. DOJ, Guidelines for Investigations and Enforcement of the FCPA (June 2025)
- U.S. DOJ, Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (updated September 2024)
- Bribery Act 2010, section 7 (legislation.gov.uk)
- ISO 37001:2025, Anti-bribery management systems
Last reviewed November 2026.