VinciWorks

SAP paid $235m after being charged with bribery

The global software giant agreed to a settlement with the US Department of Justice that is one of the largest of its kind

SAP, the German-based company, was charged with bribing government officials around the world and agreed to pay over $235m in one of the largest bribery settlements.

The company along with co-conspirators bribed South African and Indonesian foreign officials, providing cash, political contributions and wire transfers, along with luxury goods purchased during shopping trips. The goal was to obtain advantages for SAP in connection with various contracts with South African departments and agencies including Eskom Holdings Limited, a South African state-owned and state-controlled energy company.

The company also bribed government officials in Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, and Azerbaijan through third-party intermediaries and consultants it employed who paid bribes to obtain business with public sector customers in these countries.

Health and Safety
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3 min read

Campus crisis: VinciWorks offer free upgrade to higher education as student protests continue

VinciWorks is giving away the Emergency Response package for all existing HE/FE clients

It’s a difficult time for universities and colleges. Campuses around the world have found themselves turned into the centre of wildcat protests. International instability has thrust growing numbers of higher and further education institutions into crisis mode as administrators worry about the futures of their students and institutions.

Given recent events on campuses around the world, universities and colleges should be preparing emergency response plans. To support the higher and further education sector, VinciWorks are offering a free upgrade to our Emergency Response package for all HE/FE clients.

Are passwords obsolete? Rethinking passwords on World Password Day

World Password Day

A recent cyber crime and security study showed that during the fourth quarter of 2023, data breaches exposed more than eight million records worldwide. Today is World Password Day, an annual event held on the first Thursday in May dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of strong password security practices, evolving threats, and promoting better password management habits for both organisations and individuals.

The day provides a timely opportunity to reflect on the increasingly dangerous and complex landscape of cybersecurity and consider whether traditional password-based authentication methods are still sufficient in today’s digital age. While passwords have long been the cornerstone of online security, the ever-growing sophistication of cyber threats calls for a paradigm shift towards more sophisticated and innovative approaches to safeguarding our digital identities.

ESG
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3 min read

MEPs approve the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive

The landmark regulation will require firms to mitigate their negative impact on human rights and the environment

The European Parliament passed the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). This means that the new regulation passed all the EU legislative phases. It is expected to be signed into law by the EU Council this summer, with EU member states given two years to transpose the rules into national laws.

To remain in compliance, companies will need to conduct human rights and environmental due diligence on their own operations, their subsidiaries and their supply chain. This applies to impacts that occur within or without the EU.

Enforcement is scheduled to begin in 2027 for companies with over 5,000 employees and annual turnover of more than €1.5 billion, in 2028 for companies with more than 3,000 employees and €900 million in turnover, and in 2029 for companies with more than 1,000 employees and €450 million in turnover.

EU defies FATF to keep UAE on money laundering grey list

In a stunning rebuttal to the global financial crime watchdog the FATF, the European Parliament voted on Tuesday 23 April to keep the United Arab Emirates on the EU’s list of High Risk Third Countries. This will complicate due diligence efforts for regulated entities who may no longer be able to rely solely on the FATF grey list as the single source of truth for jurisdictions at high risk of financial crime.

SRA
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6 min read

SRA AML decisions a warning to small and medium sized law firms

A trio of fines for money laundering breaches handed down by the SRA at the end of April 2024 have highlighted the dangers of non-compliance by smaller and medium sized law firms. The fines total over £45,000 and in each of the three cases, basic money laundering due diligence was not done, or the correct policies and procedures were not put in place.

The decisions come as the SRA flexes its new fining powers, with at least ten decisions on AML breaches in the first quarter of 2024 alone. These cases saw fines of almost £170,000. With the trio of fines in April, the average AML fine for a small or medium size d law firm falls between £10,000 to £25,000.

The cases revolved around a failure to property conduct due diligence on clients and third parties, and failing to properly assess matter risks. Due diligence wasn’t done on funds coming from other jurisdictions and enhanced due diligence wasn’t done, nor was due diligence completed before accepting funds, and firm AML policies controls and procedures were not fully in place.

MPs to next government: Close anti-corruption loopholes

In a new manifesto, MPs outline their vision for UK anti-corruption laws. What does this mean for the future of bribery and corruption regulation?

A cross-party group of MPs want the next government to ensure that the UK is no longer a haven for dirty money by enacting legislation that would tighten up current corporate anti-corruption legislation. Senior MPs have called for a drastic expansion of regulated entities under the UK’s money laundering regime to include universities, PR agencies, property developers, all letting agents, commodity traders, and litigation.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax and the APPG on Fair Business Banking jointly launched the economic crime manifesto in which the group lays out four principles for pragmatic reform to clean the UK’s finance sector: Transparency, regulation, enforcement and accountability.

Artificial Intelligence Thought Leadership
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5 min read

75% of university librarians see urgent need for AI ethics as faculty and students turn to them for help

AI is everywhere, and the higher and further education sectors are no exception. Artificial intelligence is increasingly being integrated into higher and further education for a variety of uses by both staff and students. The new technology has the potential to herald a new era of innovation, creativity, and efficiency, and effectively revolutionise higher education. For students, AI powered tools can enable more personalised learning experiences, enhanced accessibility and research capabilities, easier collaboration, and automate student administrative and logistical tasks such as scheduling, registration, and financial aid management. For staff and administration, AI solutions also offer numerous benefits, including streamlined and more efficient administrative processes, data-driven decision making, recruitment and admissions process, as well as creative academic applications, such as having students critically evaluate AI generated texts, freeing up valuable staff time and resources for more personalised student support and academic initiatives.

Ex-MoD official gets 30 months in Saudi corruption case

Jeffrey Cook was found guilty of taking over £70K in kickbacks

Jeffrey Cook, a former Ministry of Defence (MoD) employee received 30 months in jail time after being convicted of misconduct in public office. Cook took over £70K in payments and gifts as kickbacks on a public contract that he arranged while he was an employee at the MoD.

Between 2004 and 2008, Cook was on secondment when he commissioned a series of reports from an offshore company, ME Consultants, for the MoD on its “SANGCOM” project to provide military communications equipment and services to the Saudi Arabian National Guard. The company was paid about £700K. Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigators discovered that Cook concealed payments and gifts he received totalling about 10% of its fee as a kickback. He received more than £44K in cash and two cars worth £30K according to SFO prosecutors.

GDPR
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3 min read

Biometric crackdown by UK regulator puts focus on big data at work

Thousands of employees’ biometric data must be deleted, according to a new ruling by the Information Commissioner’s Office. Serco, one of the UK’s largest employers was told to stop using fingerprint scanners and facial recognition software for staff clocking on and off in a warning that could force many other employers to change their practices.