All Anti-Bribery articles – Page 55
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Due Diligence Practices in Emerging Markets
Compliance officers wondering how their peers manage third-party risks and where they focus due diligence efforts these days will want to take a look at a new report on those practices. Enhanced due diligence firm Arachnys studied where large companies perform due diligence research, and offered a peek at the ...
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Blog
Denmark Comes Out on Top in TI’s Anti-Corruption Rankings
Image: Title: UgazDec. 3—Denmark took the top honor in the watchdog group Transparency International’s annual corruption perceptions index, ranking the cleanest of the 176 global economies reviewed. Denmark also tied for first place in last year’s index. Overall, more than two-thirds of the countries fell below a score of 50, ...
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Blog
2014 Corruption Perceptions Index Lists Most Corrupt Countries
Turkey, Angola, and China are just a few countries that fared worst than last year in Transparency International’s 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index released today. The United States placed 17th, up two spots from its 2013 ranking. The last three years mark an improvement from the 2011 TI index, when the ...
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Blog
U.K. Fraud Office Gets Mixed Review Following Inspection
Image: Title: FullerDec. 4—The U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office has made some progress in fixing issues with staffing training, resource levels, and how it investigates complex cases, but more work needs to be done, according to a report from Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate. “There has been genuine commitment from ...
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Article
SEC Whistleblower Program’s Latest Threat: Its Success
Corporate compliance officers may have a new reason to be uncomfortable with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s whistleblower program: how well it appears to be working. Tips are flooding into the SEC, including 3,620 in fiscal year 2014 alone. “The SEC has institutionally embraced the whistleblower statute,” says Brian Kenney, ...
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ArticleNew Bribery Index Aimed at Corporate Use
Companies have a new resource to help assess bribery and corruption risks in the countries where they operate, one that aims to be more meaningful to global companies than Transparency International’s widely used Corruption Perceptions Index. Trace International’s TRACE Matrix is intended specifically for corporate use, and it analyzes four ...
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Blog
OECD Report: Foreign Bribery Enforcement on the Decline
A report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development reveals that the number of sanctions against companies and individuals for the bribery of foreign government officials appears to be declining. According to the report, 42 foreign bribery cases concluded last year, significantly lower than the 78 foreign bribery cases ...
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Blog
Total to Face New Corruption Charges in France
One year after paying more than $398 million to U.S. prosecutors for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Total S.A. is expected to face new corruption charges, this time in France. In announcing the settlement last year, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Mythili Raman ...
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ArticleAre Your Business Partners Letting the Hackers In?
For Target, it was a heating and air conditioning company. At a large oil company it was a nearby Chinese restaurant. Hackers increasingly use third-party relationships to gain access to computer networks and steal data. The trend means that companies need to conduct even better due diligence on third-party relationships ...
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Blog
Caldwell: Advances in Global Anti-Corruption Efforts
Image: Title: CaldwellU.S. regulators increasingly are collaborating with foreign governments to fight bribery and corruption on a global scale, advancing the Justice Department’s efforts to uncover and prosecute violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. “Every day, more countries join in the battle against transnational bribery,” said Leslie Caldwell, assistant ...
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Blog
How Layne Christensen and Hewlett-Packard Earned Favorable Treatment After an FCPA Charge
When Layne Christensen, a global water management and construction company, and tech pioneer Hewlett-Packard were targeted for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, they both escaped harsh punishments by cooperating with enforcement authorities. Their actions serve as a how-to for earning cooperation credit. Inside, columnist Tom Fox runs down their ...
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Blog
G20 to Focus on Beneficial Ownership Transparency in 2015
Improving beneficial ownership transparency will be a top priority for leaders of the G20 countries in 2015. Following a two-day summit in Australia this week, the G20 leaders released a new set of principles that sets out concrete measures that G20 countries will take to prevent the misuse of legal ...
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Blog
Justice Department: OK to Buy Foreign Company That Paid Bribes
The Department of Justice has issued a new advisory opinion addressing the unusual situation of how to handle a U.S.-based company that wants to acquire a foreign company found to have paid bribes to government officials prior to the acquisition taking place. In this case, the Justice Department concluded that ...
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Blog
Petrobras Restates Financials Amid Bribery Probe
A corruption probe unfolding against Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras took an interesting turn today, when Brazilian federal police carried out a series of raids that resulted in the arrests of eighteen individuals believed to be involved in a widespread money-laundering scheme. In light of the accusations and investigations, Petrobas ...
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Blog
SBM Offshore Enhances Compliance, Pays $240 Million for Bribery
SBM Offshore has reached a $240 million settlement with the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office over improper payments to sales agents and foreign government officials. The company initiated an internal investigation, reported the facts to authorities, and fully cooperated in the investigation. Dutch officials also credited SBM Offshore for taking significant ...
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Blog
TRACE Launches Business Bribery Risk Index
Image: Title: WrageNov. 11—TRACE International has announced the launch of the TRACE Matrix, a business bribery risk index aimed at the compliance community. Developed in collaboration with research firm RAND, the TRACE Matrix focuses specifically on business activity, rather than broad corruption measures, providing companies with the ability to assess ...
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Blog
Report: Most Countries Lag in Anti-Corruption Enforcement
Image: Title: UgazA recent report from Transparency International finds that only four of 41 OECD member countries—United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland—actively investigate and prosecute companies for bribery and corruption violations, whereas most others do little or no enforcement. “For the anti-bribery convention to achieve a fundamental change in ...
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Blog
U.K. Fraud Office’s GC Offers Advice to Corporates for DPAs
Image: Title: GreenOct. 29—The general counsel for the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office has provided some advice for companies interested in taking advantage of newly approved deferred-prosecution agreements if faced with an investigation from the SFO. Alun Milford, the SFO’s general counsel, said in a speech that the key factors for ...
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Blog
FCPA Takeaways in Layne Christensen
Image: Layne Christensen Co. joined the FCPA enforcement hall of shame this week; it was fined $5.1 million for various bribery infractions in Africa in the 2000s. Its aggressive investigation efforts won praise from regulators, but the root of the company’s problem—weak internal control over financial reporting—is still the far ...
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Blog
U.K. Businesses in Spotlight in Massive Money Laundering Scheme
Image: Title: ClarkeOct. 22—An investigative report published last week by The Independent revealed that 19 businesses registered in the United Kingdom are under suspicion for involvement in a complex money laundering scheme that cleaned £12.5 billion in illicit money over four years. The report cited corporate secrecy laws that make ...