Let’s be honest: Stating what the company’s values are is easy. Integrity, quality, passion, accountability, collaborationโthey’re in mission statements from one coast of Corporate America to the other. CEOs and board directors rattle them off all the time, to anyone who’ll listen, with all the confidence of an ad executive pitching a hot new client. […]
Anti-Bribery
SFO Issues Guidance for Deferred Prosecution Agreements
The director of the Serious Fraud Office and the director of Public Prosecutions published a joint code of practice on the use of deferred prosecution agreements, a new enforcement tool that will become available to prosecutors on Feb. 24. The U.K. announced plans to introduce DPAs in October 2012. They later were introduced in the […]
Avon FCPA Settlement Could Reach $132 Million
Cosmetics giant Avon disclosed in a quarterly earnings report yesterday that it could end up shelling out as much as $132 million to resolve civil and criminal charges resulting from possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In a Feb. 13 earnings call, Chief Executive Officer Sheri McCoy said Avon continues to make โsignificant […]
Study: Companies Still Lag in Third-Party Due Diligence Efforts
Corruption and bribery risks posed by third-parties are expanding rapidly for global companies, and yet compliance and legal departments are still lagging on the due diligence they perform on their third parties. That’s according to the findings of a recent anti-corruption study by professional services firm AlixPartners, which surveyed more than 250 general counsels, compliance […]
High Corruption Risks Accompany Winter Games in Russia
The winter Olympics are drawing global attention to the Russian resort town of Sochi that is hosting the games and, less favorably, to the country’s longstanding reputation as a haven for bribery and corruption. The private-public nature of a project the size of hosting an Olympics makes it a potential magnet for bribery and corruption. […]
More Making Third-Party Anti-Corruption Training a Must
Companies are becoming more insistent that third parties they do business with provide their employees with anti-corruption training, and they want more say in exactly how that training is conducted. The move is part of a shift where companies are increasingly turning the guidelines they have traditionally provided to third parties on anti-corruption and anti-bribery […]
Long Road Ahead in EU Anti-Corruption
Last week the European Commission published its first-ever report on the state of anti-corruption programs across the European Union. If American compliance and audit executives want to understand how different the challenges in Europe actually areโif you want to appreciate the fundamental gulfs in how Europeans and Americans view corruption, and how to address its […]
Justice Department Joins FCPA Probe in Dealings With Libya
A widespread investigation into whether several banks, private-equity firms and hedge funds violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in their investment dealings with foreign government officials in Libya has garnered the attention of the Department of Justice. The criminal probe follows alongside a civil investigation that the Securities and Exchange Commission launched against Goldman Sachs […]
Former Deputy Chief of Justice Department Fraud Section Joins Weil
Another former deputy chief of the fraud section of the Department of Justice has joined the private sector. Adam Safwat, formally deputy chief of the fraud section of the Justice Department’s criminal division, has joined the international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges as counsel based in the Washington, D.C. office. He joins Weil’s […]
2014 Anti-Bribery & Corruption Survey Launched
Calling all members of the ethics & compliance community, we need your help! Compliance Week and Kroll are conducting our annual survey of anti-bribery and corruption practices again. The Anti-Bribery & Corruption Report is a partnership between Kroll and Compliance Week to get a comprehensive view of corruption risks today and how global businesses are […]


