All Anti-Bribery articles – Page 11
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Survey: CCOs Lack Confidence in FCPA Financial Controls
Compliance officers do not have much confidence in their companies’ financial controls to catch books-and-records violations of the FCPA, according to a new report published by Compliance Week and Kroll. The finding was one of many included in the 2015 Anti-Bribery & Corruption Report, looking at all manner of anti-corruption ...
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No Charges in HyperDynamics FCPA Case
Oil and gas company HyperDynamics announced last week that the Department of Justice has decided not to file charges following the completion of its investigation into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. "We are extremely pleased to be informed that the DOJ has closed its inquiry into this ...
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Managing FCPA Audits on a Global Scale
Enforcing anti-corruption policies among employees and third parties is one of the foremost concerns for compliance departments, but developing a robust process to assess and uncover bribery risks is not easy. At Compliance Week 2015, legal and audit executives with oil services giant Baker Hughes shared how they audit parties ...
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SEC: BHP Billiton Went Too Far on Hospitality
Image: The SEC has settled FCPA charges against BHP Billiton for inviting 176 government officials and employees of state-owned enterprises to attend the 2008 Summer Olympic Games at the company’s expense. Andrew Ceresney, head of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, said the invites occurred “while they were in a position to ...
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Ireland’s Central Bank Hits Western Union with €1.75m in Fines
Image: The Central Bank of Ireland levied €1.75m in fines on Western Union in Ireland after the firm failed to implement “robust” anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls. “The Central Bank action must be viewed in light of the inherent risks in the sector in which this firm operates … ...
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Doing God’s Work: Compliance Reform at the Vatican Bank
Image: The Istituto per le Opere di Religione, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, suffered for decades from poor internal controls and conduct. How has the Holy See tried to recover? Slowly, surely, and with a risk-based approach following international standards. “The expectations are huge in building trust and confidence, ...
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Study: CCOs Struggle to Navigate Anti-Bribery Risks
A new report from Compliance Week and Kroll Advisory Solutions gauged the level of confidence chief compliance officers have in their companies’ financial controls to catch books-and-records violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; according to the study, only 48 percent felt confident. See inside for more study details.
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Brit Banking Regulators Wield Attestation More Often
Deutsche Bank paid $345 million to British regulators for its role in the LIBOR scandal, $153 million of that stemming from a false attestation the bank submitted about its internal controls. Those attestations are emerging as a potent tool for the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority. “This case sends a strong ...
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Anti-Corruption Compliance Improves in Defense Sector
Image: A new Transparency International report examining anti-corruption measures in the defense sector holds both good and bad news: Many defense companies have improved their ethics and anti-corruption compliance programs; plenty more still have lots to do. “It is clear that many companies in the industry are paying closer attention ...
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Throwing Books & Records at ’Em
Image: Compliance officers responsible for accurate books and records and effective internal control over financial reporting may be entering a brave new world of regulatory enforcement. The SEC is stepping up its use of administrative proceedings to impose strict liability on even relatively minor infractions of securities law. “The SEC ...
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Far East: The Epicenter of FCPA Enforcement?
Image: Everyone says bribery risk is highest along the Pacific Rim, but how acute is the problem really? Pretty bad, according to a Compliance Week review of recent FCPA enforcement actions—and the risks will only increase as more U.S. companies enter Asia and more Asian companies tap U.S. capital markets. ...
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Ukraine Anti-Corruption Law Requires Compliance Officers
The Ukraine has enacted a new law that applies to almost all companies participating in public tenders and state-owned enterprises over a certain size, requiring them to have in place a compliance program. The law further requires companies to appoint a compliance officer with responsibility for implementing the compliance program. ...
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China Targets Medical Device Companies in Bribery Probe
Chinese regulators are investigating several foreign medical device companies over suspicions that they may have bribed hospitals in exchange for sales. Regulators launched a preliminary investigation last year into the Chinese healthcare units of U.S.-based General Electric, Amsterdam-based Royal Philips, and Germany-based Siemens AG. Details inside.
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SNC-Lavalin General Counsel to Depart
SNC-Lavalin announced this month that Réjean Goulet will be retiring from his position as general counsel after a 30-year career with the embattled engineering-and-construction company, effective in July. Jean-Éric Laferrière, currently senior vice president of legal affairs, will serve as interim general counsel while the company conducts a worldwide search ...
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TI Index Shows Anti-Corruption Improvements in Defense Sector
A new anti-corruption index examining anti-corruption measures in the defense sector reveals some good news: many defense companies are increasingly addressing corruption risks, with improvement evident in companies from every region of the world. The results show significant improvement overall,” said Transparency International, which last issued its index in 2012. ...
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Whistleblower Laws Abroad Remain Weak and Untested
Image: What whistleblower protections exist overseas that are comparable to those under the Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank Acts? Compliance Week did a spot-check of major countries, and the results of our round-the-world tour are inside. “There’s no country in the world whose whistleblower protection laws come close to what we’ve developed ...
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TI Report Urges Southeast Asia to Make Anti-Corruption a Priority
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are not doing nearly enough to address corruption at the national level, warns a new report by Transparency International. In its report, TI recommended that ASEAN form an ASEAN Integrity Community to fast track anti-corruption policy measures and further recommended four targeted ...
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Cleaning Up FCPA Cases That Spill Into Litigation
Image: Companies under investigation for possible violations of the FCPA have more than enforcement action to worry about; they must be prepared to fend off shareholder lawsuits as well. That requires some careful strategy about how to investigate FCPA allegations and document them. “I can’t tell you how often I ...
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Bilfinger Probe Uncovers Bribery Related to World Cup
German-based engineering company Bilfinger said that an internal investigation has uncovered potential bribery payments made to government officials in Brazil for contracts related to the 2014 World Cup. After launching an internal investigation into the allegations last year, “suspicions have now been substantiated,” Bilfinger said. Details inside.
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OECD: Greece Must Focus More on Foreign Bribery
The risk of Greek companies bribing foreign officials is substantial, and yet Greece has not given the same priority to fighting foreign bribery as it has to domestic corruption, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Phase 3bis Report on Greece." The repor examines issues that the Working ...