There has been a final twist in the appellate saga between
the Crown and Jacobs Group (Australia) Pty Ltd (Jacobs). The
High Court has unanimously overturned the NSW Court of
Criminal Appeal’s construction of the phrase “the value of the
benefit” as it appears in the foreign bribery corporate penalty
provision in the Commonwealth Criminal Code.
Although this case related to foreign bribery, the same or
similar penalty provisions are found throughout the federal
statute books, and so the High Court’s broad interpretation
of “benefit” may have ramifications for a broad range of
corporate offending in Australia.
