Companies in the UK are lagging behind in preventing risk due to their lack of awareness of anti-bribery and corruption laws.

Nearly 31% of company secretaries and legal executives at FTSE 350 companies admitted that they had taken no steps to communicate the significance and implications of the law to their employees. Some 19% were not aware of the provision in the law at all, despite the possibility of prosecution under the UK's 2001 Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act – which allows for prosecution of UK employees for corruption committed abroad.

KPMG Forensic, which revealed the shocking statistic, said that the most common reason for this lack of communication was that the law is 'not relevant' to the company's business, although 90% of companies conduct business overseas.

The firm said there is also a lack of awareness of US law – the Foreign and Corrupt Practices Act – which allows US authorities to prosecute American companies and foreign companies with a US footprint for corrupt practices involving public officials abroad.

KPMG partner in the forensic team, Alex Plavsic, said companies appeared to be exposing themselves to increased risk of prosecution through either a lack of awareness of the anti-bribery rules, or a lack of engagement even when they are aware.

'In the UK, the Serious Fraud Office is known to be actively investigating a number of cases,' he warned. 'Some UK companies may well suddenly sit up with a jolt and take notice as and when prosecutions are announced.'