The annual list is a must-read for global businesses

The anti-corruption NGO Transparency International has released their annual report into perceptions of corruption and bribery across the world. This list forms a critical part of any organisation’s bribery and corruption risk assessment. Countries within the supply chain or which are significant markets or resources should be assessed for their bribery and corruption risks, with the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI) forming a key source for bribery mitigation measures.

If a country which forms a critical part of the supply chain, base of operation, or otherwise plays a significant role in a business, a lower score on the Corruption Index should be incorporated into a bribery risk assessment, and would necessitate further anti-bribery risk mitigation measures.

Continue reading

Probe was part of a larger 10-year investigation into corruption at ENRC

A British lawyer, William Osmond, was found guilty of “tipping off” his client about a money laundering investigation that was being conducted by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). The case was part of a larger 10-year probe into allegations of corruption against Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC (ENRC), a public Kazakh mining company. Its offices are headquartered in London. 

The 10-year investigation was abruptly dropped this past August. It focused on allegations of bribery and fraud relating to ENRC’s acquisition of mining contracts in Africa.

Continue reading

When corporate board members are held to a higher standard than public officials

The senior US senator from New Jersey Bob Menendez has so far refused to resign despite being indicted on federal charges of bribery, along with his wife and three businessmen from the state.

The senator allegedly agreed to use his official position to benefit the Egyptian military, and also interfered with a law enforcement probe into these three businessmen. The former chairmen of the foreign relations committee had cash stuffed in envelopes and clothes at his home, with his fingerprints all over them. Prosecutors say he and his wife accepted money, 13 gold bars and a luxury car in exchange for political favor’s.

Continue reading

The appearance of impropriety is one of the hardest compliance challenges to combat. Regarding gifts and hospitality, even modest tokens could cause problems if given at the incorrect time or to the wrong person. Gifts given to public officials could even cause significant regulatory breaches as laws differ worldwide.

As the United States Supreme Court has demonstrated, with some justices receiving all manner of bribes in exchange for favourable rulings, the appearance of impropriety can cause severe reputational damage, even if no rules were technically broken.

With new EU rules on public sector gifts and hospitality on their way and updates to bribery laws in Canada and the US, now is a vital time to refresh your bribery policies and think about having an automated solution to track who’s giving and getting what at your organisation.

In this webinar, we discuss:

  • Gifts and hospitality cases from around the world, including the storm over gifts to US justices
  • New EU regulations on gifts and hospitality for public officials
  • Key corporate bribery cases linked to improper gifts and hospitality
  • Why G&H registers should track gifts given, as well as received
  • Best practice in designing your G&H register

Watch the on-demand webinar and understand the importance of tracking who’s giving and getting what at your organisation.

Watch Now

VinciWorks’ most recent money laundering case study tells the story of a Jersey shelf company that was charged with money laundering and ultimately returned $3.7m in confiscated funds to Kenyan citizens, which was then used for much needed medical funds and pandemic relief. 

There is much to be learned from this recent case study, a case which marked the first time Jersey repatriated confiscated assets to Kenya. VinciWorks’ case study about the corruption case explains what happened, how the case was cracked, how the funds were accessed, what the penalties were, and what the red flags in the case were, and points out innovative approaches that were taken in the course of resolving this case. 

Continue reading

A report says she is. And that London and Virgin Islands firms didn’t do enough to stop her

Gulnara Karimova has already achieved a measure of fame – or notoriety. She is the daughter of Islam Karimov, who was president of Uzbekistan from 1989 until 2016, when he died. There was a period when it was thought that she would succeed him. She also appeared in pop videos under the stage name, “Googoosha,” she ran a jewellery company and she served as ambassador to Spain.

And now, an NGO, Freedom For Eurasia, released a report detailing how Karimova built a £200m empire on properties from London to Hong Kong with funds obtained through bribery and corruption.

Continue reading

The new offences of failure to prevent fraud are likely to shake up corporate compliance for all UK business. How will they work in practice?

The UK government have announced they are pushing ahead with a game-changing new regulation to expand the ‘failure to prevent’ family of offences to failure to prevent fraud. 

Proposed amendments could even see corporate officers jailed if they take a decision, or fail to take a decision, that could lead to economic crime such as fraud, false accounting or money laundering being committed.

Failure to prevent encompasses a wide array of compliance failures, from not having the right policies in place, to a lack of procedures to even training courses that aren’t effective in delivering the right information to employees. 

Continue reading

Download our detailed guide: “Failure to Prevent: A Guide to Compliance” and find out more about the family of failure to prevent offences, including the new failure to prevent fraud offence currently going through the UK parliament.

Failure to prevent fraud will apply to all businesses, and require them to have certain procedures in place, or face criminal liability.

This free guide includes:

  • What is failure to prevent?
  • What’s new in failure to prevent?
  • Why is failure to prevent fraud being considered and who will it cover?
  • Failure to prevent fraud in detail
  • Failure to prevent tax evasion
  • Failure to prevent bribery
  • The future of failure to prevent

Download your guide to failure to prevent now and stay on top of this game-changing new regulation that’s set to shake up corporate compliance.

Download the guide

The ‘failure to prevent’ concept is being expanded to fraud, false accounting and money laundering

The UK government have announced they are pushing ahead with a game-changing new regulation to expand the ‘failure to prevent’ family of offences to failure to prevent fraud. 

The announcement came during Parliamentary debate over the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill which aims for a wide-reaching attempt to tackle all aspects of economic crime, along with reform of Companies House.

Continue reading

Compliance failures cost the business in financial penalties, reputational damage, and even jail time. In this episode, Director of Learning and Content Nick Henderson takes us through the crucial elements that make up a successful anti-bribery and corruption programme for your business.

Free anti-bribery resources