Corruption is like a bus. You can stay inside the bus and be part of it. You can sit beside the bus, close your eyes, ignore that corruption exists, and not say anything. Or you can stand in front of the bus. But, in a place like Brazil…
What a Top Brazilian Federal Judge Wants You to Know about Corruption There
December 4, 2012
Conflict Minerals: Never Heard of Them? Public Companies Better Listen Up
November 6, 2012
Companies that rely on the specified conflict minerals of gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum are encouraged to immediately put measures in place to identify the original source of these materials.
The OECD Scorecard for Australia
October 30, 2012
It remains a challenge for corporations to balance the ethical demands of regulators with the pursuit of profit. Sustainable growth can be achieved but it requires determination over several years rather than focusing simply on short-term profits and personal remuneration.
The U.K. OECD Phase 3 Report
June 12, 2012
The OECD recently released its Phase 3 Report on Implementing the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in the United Kingdom. Mike Koehler provides a brief overview of certain issues in the report.
Businesses Push Back Against Brazil Foreign Bribery Bill
May 16, 2012
In January 2012 Matteson Ellis reported on how Brazil is currently considering an overhaul of its foreign bribery law. In March, he reported that a special committee was created by the Brazilian Congress to analyze the bill made revisions to the draft that bolstered certain provisions. Reports now indicate that Brazilian businesses have begun a significant lobbying effort to weaken the bill.
Does Wal-Mart Have a Facilitation Payment Exception to the FCPA?
April 26, 2012
In this article Thomas Fox visits the text of the FCPA and other Department of Justice (DOJ) commentary, some enforcement actions, one open investigation involving alleged facilitation payments and offer some guidance to the compliance practitioner on what may or may not constitute a facilitation payment under the FCPA.
Under-Criminalisation of Foreign Bribery in Asia Pacific
February 15, 2012 with Charles-Henri Boeringer
Countries signing on to the United Nation Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) are required to enact laws to criminalize bribery of foreign public officials. All of the Asia Pacific countries (except North Korea) have signed the UNCAC, and yet, only a small minority of them have enacted a specific criminal offense covering bribery of foreign public [...]
Using the Octagon: Lozier’s Eight Steps to Further Your Compliance Program
August 23, 2011
In an article published in the Houston Business Journal entitled “Eight Steps to a More Effective Anticorruption Compliance Function,” Chris Lozier, principal at UHY Advisors in Houston and manager of the FCPA – Foreign Corrupt Practices Act – Anti-Corruption Compliance Group on LinkedIn, wrote about the gaps that companies are finding in their compliance programs. To help remedy these gaps, Lozier discussed eight key steps he believes that companies can take immediately to establish a more effective anti-corruption compliance program. Thomas Fox provides a quick rundown of the steps.
What Are the Essentials For a FCPA/Bribery Act/OECD Compliance Program?
May 17, 2011
In a recent article entitled “Bribery and Corruption Compliance: the Playing Field Levels,” Timothy Coleman and Paul Lomas, attorneys from the law firm of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, discuss what they term the “tectonic shift” in anti-bribery and anti-corruption compliance internationally. The authors posit that several factors have all acted to place “new burdens” on companies to have the highest standard of anti-bribery corruption programs in place. They then propose 10 essential elements of an anti-bribery and anti-corruption compliance program.
5 Sweeping Legal Developments from 2010
January 27, 2011
2010 was a very busy year for lawmakers. We saw some of the most sweeping laws come in to place, governing the way businesses conduct themselves. Lindsay Walker provides a look at some of the most hard-hitting legal developments from the past year.
