DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Christian Monberg, Simon Evers Hjelmborg, Ann Sophie Juul Hird and Linn Dyrgaard Stinus, Accura Advokatpartnerselskab
2. Bribery and Corruption Elements 2.1 Bribery There is no official definition of bribery in the Criminal Code, but it does cover several actions generally con - sidered to constitute criminalised bribery. Section 122 of the Criminal Code covers the act of bribing (active bribery) and stipulates that any person who unlawfully provides, promises, or offers a gift or other advantage to a person serving in a Danish, for - eign, or international public office to induce them to act or refrain from acting in their official duties, shall be punished with a fine or imprisonment for up to six years. Section 144 of the Criminal Code covers the act of receiving a bribe (passive bribery) and stipulates that any person who, in the exercise of Danish, foreign, or international public service or office, unlawfully receives, demands, or accepts a gift or other advan - tage, shall be punished with a fine or imprisonment for up to six years. The definition of serving or exercising public office is wide and includes persons employed in a private company if that company is owned or controlled by the public (and provided that the person is undertak - ing a public role in the company). Furthermore, foreign public officials in other jurisdictions, including within the EU, are also covered by the provisions. The definition of a gift or other advantage is also wide and includes both tangible and intangible benefits offered to a public official. However, whether or not hospitality expenditures and promotional expendi - tures are covered depends on the specific circum - stances of the case, including if the recipient earns a personal economic gain, whether or not the recipient is expected to repay or return the hospitality, and if the given expenditure is greater than what can reason - ably be expected, as defined in a judgment from the Supreme Court of Denmark in 1983 (UfR 1983.990 H). Several public bodies, including the Agency for Pub - lic Finance and Management – Ministry of Finance, Agency for Modernisation, the Danish Police, and the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics
dated Act No 331 of 20 March 2025, selskabsloven ) (the “Companies Act”) which set out rules for booking, financial statements, board of directors’ duties, imple - mentation of risk-based analysis and programmes regarding anti-corruption. Furthermore, sector-spe - cific regulation is found in the Anti-Money Laundering Act (Consolidated Act No 807 of 21 June 2024, hvid- vaskloven ) (the “Anti-Money Laundering Act”) which regulates companies in the financial sector and the legal sector. However, in terms of violations, the said acts all refer to the Criminal Code. 1.3 Guidelines for the Interpretation and Enforcement of National Legislation There are no official guidelines to supplement the Criminal Code, but case law from the Danish courts of law as well as the preparatory work to the Criminal Code contain important interpretative contributions to the Criminal Code as well as sector-specific criminal regulation. For practitioners, a wealth of literature on interpret - ing the legislation, along with various legal journals, focuses on, among other things, anti-corruption. In addition, the Danish Prosecution Service publishes numerous documents on the Criminal Code, but these are not binding for courts of law. Anti-corruption guidelines are available to help Dan - ish companies implement compliance programmes and detect any possible violations. These guidelines, drafted by the Danish Business Authority and consid - ered best practices, are not considered binding. Refer to 8.2 Compliance Guidelines and Best Practices for further details. 1.4 Recent Key Amendments to National Legislation There have been no material changes to the Criminal Code in regards to anti-corruption and anti-bribery in the last 12 months. In terms of relevant case law, refer to 7.5 Recent Landmark Investigations or Decisions .
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