FCPAméricas Blog
New Tool for Compliance Practitioners Published in Brazil
8.07.2014
A new book published recently in Brazil is a good tool for compliance practitioners. The book, entitled Compliance: A excelência na prática (Compliance: Excellence in practice), was written by Wagner Giovanini, Siemens’s Compliance Officer for Brazil. Having served in this position for several years, Wagner was one of the first compliance officers in Brazil, with deep experience in the area.
With 506 pages divided in 14 chapters, the book covers numerous areas of anti-corruption compliance and related areas. Chapters of the book address topics such as how to design a compliance program, where to place the compliance area within the company, how to interact with other departments of the company (e.g., HR, internal audi... Read more
Corporate Criminal Liability in the United States and Brazil: A Brief Comparative Analysis
7.31.2014
Given the differences in corporate criminal liability in the United States and Brazil, companies making investments in both countries might not be aware of specific risks that apply to them.
This is particularly relevant considering the levels of investment between these countries. For decades, United States companies have been operating in Brazil, taking advantage of Brazil’s generally open and encouraging foreign investment climate. In fact, the United States is the lead foreign investor in Brazil, with an accumulated foreign direct investment stock in 2012 of $79 billion. More recently, Br... Read more
FCPA Myths and Misconceptions, Debunked (Part 2: Enforcement)
7.24.2014
As noted in the previous post is this series, FCPA misconceptions are dangerous. For compliance programs to mitigate risks as intended, everyone in the organization needs to understand them consistently. Compliance officers need to be alert for common myths or misunderstandings related to what the FCPA requires. Part 1 of this series describes common misconceptions related to FCPA compliance – this post highlights enforcement-related misconceptions.
1. “This is just a facilitating payment.” One of the most frequent areas of FCPA misunderstanding relates to the facilitating payments exception. It is not uncommon to hear someone describe a $... Read more
