FCPAméricas Blog
Brazil’s Anti-Bribery Bill Might Not Meet OECD Standards
3.05.2013
Many in Brazil tracking developments of the country’s draft bribery bill (No. 6.826/2010) are growing worried about delays. FCPAméricas has previously discussed the bill here, here, and here.
Not only are they concerned that the country will not pass and implement the law in time for the OECD Working Group’s 2014 review (see a discussion here about the OECD peer review process that assesses compliance with OECD Anti-Bribery Convention commitments – during the review, Brazil’s legislation and enforcement efforts will be evaluated by international experts). Many are also worried that the eventual legislation... Read more
How Companies Measure “Culture of Compliance”
2.27.2013
This post is the third in a series that relates to comments made by top AML compliance officers from banks and financial institutions like Citigroup, American Express Bank Mexico, and CapitalOne. These comments were made at the 2013 Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Conference organized by the Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA).
FIBA’s AML conference is one of the largest, focusing on Latin America and drawing over 1,200 participants from banks and other financial institutions and regulatory bodies throughout the region. Earlier posts summarized the panelists’ descriptions of the ideal compliance officer and where compliance fits within an organization.
The AML compliance officers responded to the question “How do you measure a Culture of Compliance?” As you will see, these comments could just as easily be made about FCPA compliance:
“Is there a propensity in the organization to talk ... Read more
More Wisdom from Alexandra Wrage
2.21.2013
Two weeks ago, I was honored to speak at this year’s TRACE Mexico City Workshop. Alexandra Wrage, the Founder and President of TRACE, kicked off the conference by offering some words of wisdom. Alexandra is a recognized authority on FCPA compliance issues. She has given FCPAméricas permission to share some of her thoughts with our audience.
On the roots of corruption. No culture embraces corruption. Corruption occurs when opportunity is combined with insufficient penalties. In those environments, people will be more likely to pay bribes. To address bribery, companies and governments need to increase the risks of paying bribes, to ensure that bribery brings consequences. The risks of bribery need to be visible and credible. For example, employment contracts must clearly state that bribery by a company official will lead to consequences “up to and including termination.”
On good governance. In battling corruption, the goal is to establish a culture of good governance. If there is bribery in a company, there are probably other problems too. For example, if money is available for bribes, then it is probably available for theft as well. When executives can use hidden accounts to withdraw money to pay bribes, they can also ... Read more
