Pictured above: Charles Arrand

An astonishing half of all West Midland companies know nothing of the Government's clampdown on corporate bribery.

And, with the Financial Services Authority increasingly rooting out insider dealing, law firm DLA Piper is warning that business is in for a nasty shock.

Charles Arrand, partner in the Litigation and Regulatory team in the Birmingham office, said: "This means businesses need to take immediate steps to ensure that their procedures, systems and controls are reviewed and revised accordingly".

"It is fortunate that the main provisions in the new Bribery Act 2010 do not come into force immediately and we are not likely to see this happen until October."

As a result of the General Election the Bribery Bill had its final stages expedited as part of the traditional 'wash-up' process before the dissolution of Parliament on April 12. It has since received Royal Assent.

There have been no changes to the main provisions - general bribery offences, bribery of foreign public officials and failure of commercial organisations to prevent bribery.

Individuals found guilty face up to ten years in jail. For corporates fines are  without upper limit, with the potential double whammy of Confiscation Proceedings under The Proceeds of Crime Act.

Mr Arrand said: "To mount a successful defence a company will need to demonstrate that bribery ostensibly committed on its behalf was a rogue act contrary to its policies and procedures, which were adequate in themselves and adequately implemented and managed".

"Prudent companies will have anticipated these challenges, assessed their risks and implemented meaningful compliance measures. Those that lag behind need to start taking action now or risk serious damage to their reputation and business."

A bit of a shock then that a national survey released by DLA Piper and YouGovStone found that 52 per cent of those taking part were unaware of the new legislation.

Just 22 per cent of West Midlanders felt reformed bribery laws were important to the UK maintaining or developing global leadership.

Most said miscreants should be debarred from going for public contracts as part of their punishment. 

And the net is also closing on those who risk insider dealing.

Perhaps spurred on by Conservative abolition threats, with plans to hand its regulatory powers to the Bank of England, the FSA has ramped up the number of investigations into insider trading in recent months stepping up its efforts to crack down on market manipulation.

That has resulted in dawn raids and arrests of leading City players.

The regulator charged seven men after a two-year investigation, Operation Saturn, into alleged wrongdoing by staff in the print rooms of two investment banks, JPMorgan Cazenove and UBS.

This was followed by arrests including two senior city professionals at leading institutions and one at a hedge fund following searches of 16 addresses in a joint FSA and Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) operation.

Documents and computers were seized from premises in London, the South East and Oxfordshire.

Deutsche Bank, the leading German bank, the French giant BNP Paribas and hedge fund Moore Capital all had employees caught up in the probe.

Mr Arrand said: "The economic downturn appears to have seen, or at least revealed, a marked increase in fraud and financial crime. It is clear the FSA is now determined to demonstrate that market manipulation will not be tolerated and the financial sector will have to become accustomed to regulatory bodies well and truly turning the spotlight on them".

"It is critical that all individuals and firms, whether regulated by the FSA or not, handle inside information carefully, and in accordance with the law and any applicable regulations. Similarly, anyone who is, or could be, regarded as an 'insider' needs to ensure that they meet their legal obligations if they are to avoid being accused of an offence".

"The FSA has made it a priority to target business professionals, repeat offenders and organised rings. Their intention could not have been made clearer."