No Result
View All Result
SUBSCRIBE | NO FEES, NO PAYWALLS
MANAGE MY SUBSCRIPTION
NEWSLETTER
Corporate Compliance Insights
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Corporate Compliance Insights
Home Compliance

Colombia Ramps Up Enforcement of Transnational Bribery Law

by Matteson Ellis
September 6, 2018
in Compliance, Featured
colombian president Juan Manuel Santos

How “Supersociedades” is Doing in Battling Corruption

Matteson Ellis summarizes developments with respect to Colombia’s Superintendent for Corporate Entities (Supersociedades). Numerous investigations are underway, sanctions have been levelled and the country’s leaders are speaking out in no uncertain terms to condemn wrongdoing.

Recent announcements in Colombia indicate that the country is taking seriously its new transnational bribery law. Colombia’s Superintendent for Corporate Entities (“Supersociedades”), the local enforcement body for the new law, sanctioned its first company for a foreign bribery offense involving Ecuador, applying a penalty of about US$1.8 million. Local press reports that Supersociedades also fined a company approximately US$50,000 for refusing to provide information as part of another foreign bribery investigation under the new law, and then referred the case to local prosecutors. Other media agencies report that Supersociedades is investigating 12 companies for foreign bribery.

These developments follow comments made by senior government officials at the “20 Years of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention: Latin American Perspectives” event held by Colombia’s Secretariat of Transparency in February 2018 in Bogotá. Participants there included Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos; U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Kevin Whitaker; OECD Working Group on Bribery Chair Drago Kos; and anti-corruption prosecutors from Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Panama, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Inter-American Development Bank. I also participated, offering private sector perspectives on enforcement and compliance matters.

A main focus of the OECD event was Colombia’s Transnational Bribery Act (Ley 1778), the country’s new foreign bribery law, enacted on February 2, 2016, and designed to bring the country’s laws in line with its commitments under the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. The law bolsters Colombia’s enforcement regime and creates corporate administrative liability for bribes paid abroad. It also establishes explicit credit for companies with adequate anti-corruption compliance programs. The law applies to Colombian companies, including the Colombian subsidiaries of non-Colombian companies registered to do business there.

The following notable points were made at the OECD conference about enforcement of the new law:

Investigations in Colombia Underway

Lending support to the recent media reports, Francisco Reyes, who heads Supersociedades, announced that his agency currently has “more than 10 investigations” underway pursuant to the new law. Because the law applies only to conduct that occurred after it took effect, the number of open investigations is impressive. Superintendent Reyes added that his agency has established cooperation agreements with authorities in both Peru and Brazil for foreign bribery investigations and is actively seeking to do the same with authorities in other jurisdictions.

Sanctions for Obstruction

Superintendent Reyes announced that Supersociedades will sanction companies not only for underlying foreign bribery offenses, but also for obstruction of his agency’s investigations. Obstruction could include concealing information, refusing access to requested information, submission of information with significant errors and general failure to cooperate with a Supersociedades investigation.

Forensic Laboratory Established

Superintendent Reyes said that his agency has set up a forensic laboratory to support its foreign bribery investigations. The lab gives the enforcement agency the ability to review electronic data from computers and cellular phones and to recover company data that has been erased.

OECD Support for Transnational Bribery Law

Some have speculated that since Colombia’s Transnational Bribery Act creates corporate administrative liability but not corporate criminal liability for foreign bribery offenses, and the penalty level is capped at US$55 million, these limitations might cause the OECD Working Group to conclude that the noncriminal penalties are not “effective, proportionate and dissuasive,” as required by Article 3 of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. At the Colombia event, however, Working Group Chair Drago Kos helped put such speculation to rest, saying: “I would be happy if all members of the group had such a cap to meet the sanctions requirement. A sanction does not need to be criminal; if administrative liability functions in the same way, it can meet the standard. I will be interested to see how this cap is applied in practice.”

President Santos Emphasizes Prevention

President Santos stated that battling corruption historically has been part of the fabric of Colombian society, explaining that beginning in 1824, liberator Simon Bolivar demanded the death penalty for public officials who violated the public trust by seeking personal gain from their positions. President Santos added that corruption prevention has only recently become part of the equation, highlighting that international agreements like the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention create new and positive opportunities for countries like Colombia to tackle the “cancer” of corruption.

Detailed Compliance Guidance

Pursuant to the Transnational Bribery Act, Supersociedades has issued a detailed guide on anti-corruption compliance expectations. Miller & Chevalier was retained to advise the country in developing the guidance. The result is a highly detailed, 22-page document providing specific instruction for compliance principles, including risk assessments, written policies, tone from the top, trainings, compliance teams, third-party due diligence and internal reporting mechanisms. Supersociedades has taken the position that companies that perform international work in certain industries are required to have compliance programs in place that meet the standards set forth in the guide. These industries include pharmaceuticals, infrastructure and construction, manufacturing, mining and energy and information technology and communications. Supersociedades has begun requesting declarations from companies in this group, stating that they have adopted adequate programs pursuant to the guidance, which they will keep on file and consult when future investigations develop.

This article was republished with permission from FCPAméricas Blog, for which Matteson Ellis is founder, editor and regular contributor.

The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author in his or her individual capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone else, including the entities with which the author is affiliated, the author`s employers, other contributors, FCPAméricas or its advertisers. The information in the FCPAméricas blog is intended for public discussion and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal advice to its readers and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It does not seek to describe or convey the quality of legal services. FCPAméricas encourages readers to seek qualified legal counsel regarding anti-corruption laws or any other legal issue. FCPAméricas gives permission to link, post, distribute or reference this article for any lawful purpose, provided attribution is made to the author and to FCPAméricas LLC.


Tags: Anti-CorruptionOrganization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Previous Post

Getting the Board on Board with Cybersecurity

Next Post

Truth: Compliance is Difficult and Getting Harder

Matteson Ellis

Matteson Ellis

Matteson Ellis serves as Special Counsel to the FCPA and International Anti-Corruption practice group of Miller & Chevalier in Washington, DC.  He is also founder and principal of Matteson Ellis Law PLLC, a law firm focusing on FCPA compliance and enforcement. He has extensive experience in a broad range of international anti-corruption areas. Previously, he worked with the anti-corruption and anti-fraud investigations and sanctions proceedings unit at The World Bank. Mr. Ellis has helped build compliance programs associated with some of the largest FCPA settlements to date; performed internal investigations in more than 20 countries throughout the Americas, Asia, Europe and Africa considered “high corruption risk” by international monitoring organizations; investigated fraud and corruption and supported administrative sanctions and debarment proceedings for The World Bank and The Inter-American Development Bank; and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. Mr. Ellis focuses particularly on the Americas, having spent several years in the region working for a Fortune 50 multinational corporation and a government ethics watchdog group. He regularly speaks on corruption matters throughout the region and is editor of the FCPAméricas Blog. He has worked with every facet of FCPA enforcement and compliance, including legal analysis, internal investigations, third party due diligence, transactional due diligence, anti-corruption policy drafting, compliance training, compliance audits, corruption risk assessments, voluntary disclosures to the U.S. government and resolutions with the U.S. government. He has conducted anti-corruption enforcement and compliance work in the following sectors: agriculture, construction, defense, energy/oil and gas, engineering, financial services, medical devices, mining, pharmaceuticals, gaming, roads/infrastructure and technology. Mr. Ellis received his law degree, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, his masters in foreign affairs from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, and his B.A. from Dartmouth College. He co-founded and serves as chairman of the board of The School for Ethics and Global Leadership in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the District of Columbia, Texas, New York, and New Jersey bar associations. Mr. Ellis is also author of The FCPA in Latin America: Common Corruption Risks and Effective Compliance Strategies for the Region.

Related Posts

abac

1-2-3s of ABAC Compliance Programs

by Jag Lamba
March 1, 2023

Despite the proliferation of laws aimed at fighting bribery and corruption, a recent international report found that most countries are...

Hogan Lovells Global Corruption Outlook 2023_f

Global Bribery and Corruption Outlook 2023

by Corporate Compliance Insights
February 16, 2023

What's to come this year? Demands for heightened oversight of employees, subsidiaries and third parties 2023 Update Global Bribery and...

hottest takes

The Hottest Compliance Takes of 2022

by Staff and Wire Reports
December 14, 2022

Nobody was canceled for anything they wrote for our pages in 2022 — at least that we know of. But...

brazil election

Win-Lose Situation: No Matter Outcome of Brazilian Presidential Election, Corruption Wins (and Everyone Else Loses)

by M. Victoria Abut
October 12, 2022

Brazil’s presidential contest will head to a two-man runoff election later this month, but if any observers had hopes for...

Next Post
small businessman being squeezed by giant businessman

Truth: Compliance is Difficult and Getting Harder

Compliance Job Interview Q&A

Jump to a Topic

AML Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption Artificial Intelligence (AI) Automation Banking Board of Directors Board Risk Oversight Business Continuity Planning California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Code of Conduct Communications Management Corporate Culture COVID-19 Cryptocurrency Culture of Ethics Cybercrime Cyber Risk Data Analytics Data Breach Data Governance DOJ Download Due Diligence Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) ESG FCPA Enforcement Actions Financial Crime Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) GDPR HIPAA Know Your Customer (KYC) Machine Learning Monitoring RegTech Reputation Risk Risk Assessment SEC Social Media Risk Supply Chain Technology Third Party Risk Management Tone at the Top Training Whistleblowing
No Result
View All Result

Privacy Policy

Founded in 2010, CCI is the web’s premier global independent news source for compliance, ethics, risk and information security. 

Got a news tip? Get in touch. Want a weekly round-up in your inbox? Sign up for free. No subscription fees, no paywalls. 

Follow Us

Browse Topics:

  • CCI Press
  • Compliance
  • Compliance Podcasts
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data Privacy
  • eBooks Published by CCI
  • Ethics
  • FCPA
  • Featured
  • Financial Services
  • Fraud
  • Governance
  • GRC Vendor News
  • HR Compliance
  • Internal Audit
  • Leadership and Career
  • On Demand Webinars
  • Opinion
  • Resource Library
  • Risk
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Well-Being
  • Whitepapers

© 2022 Corporate Compliance Insights

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Career Connection
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Submit an Event
  • Library
    • Whitepapers & Reports
    • eBooks
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe

© 2022 Corporate Compliance Insights

Welcome to CCI. This site uses cookies. Please click OK to accept. Privacy Policy
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT