FCPAméricas Blog
Where FCPA Compliance Fits Within An Organization
2.19.2013
This post is the second 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). An earlier post summarized the panelists’ descriptions of the ideal compliance officer.
The compliance officers discussed where and how compliance functions should fit within a financial institution. As you will see, these comments could just as easily be made about FCPA compliance officers:
“The role of the compliance officer is one where you should be embedded in every function of the organization, especially operations. If you do not know how something works at the company, it is hard for you to be a good compliance officer.”
“Right now compliance is too important not to have your compliance officer as an organizational leader. That person should not be in a silo.”
“... Read more
Brazil’s First Anti-Corruption Compliance Book Published
2.18.2013
A group of Brazilian and foreign attorneys, scholars, and public officials have published the first anti-corruption compliance book in Brazil, entitled Temas de Anticorrupção e Compliance (Themes of Anti-Corruption and Compliance). The book has chapters written in English and Portuguese. It was coordinated by the Anti-Corruption and Compliance Committee of IBRADEMP (the Brazilian Institute of Business Law). The leading contributors were Brazilian lawyers Alessandra Del Debbio, Bruno Maeda, and Carlos Henrique Ayres.
Chapters in the book cover numerous areas of anti-corruption compliance, including gifts & hospitality, third party due dil... Read more
Brookfield: Notable Aspects of Corruption in Brazil
2.15.2013
Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that a prosecutor in Brazil has filed bribery charges against the Brazilian subsidiary of Canada-based Brookfield Asset Management. Brookfield is one of the world’s largest property investors. The civil charges allege that the subsidiary paid $640,000 in bribes to obtain construction permits around Sao Paulo. As part of the scheme, the firm is alleged to have hired an armored truck to deliver cash to city officials. In return, the firm got around having to make improvements to a nearby overpass and received a reduced permitting fee.
The WSJ report brings to light various issues:
FCPA Jurisdiction: Brookfield is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. As such, it is directly subject to the FCPA’s accounting provisions. The IBM Argentina case demonstrates that a publicly-listed U.S. parent can be held liable for the improper books and records of its subsidiary, even if the parent had no knowledge of the underlying wrongdoing. Moreover, in the WSJ report, the prosecutor describes a “high system of bribery.” This might suggest that individuals at the parent firm participated in ... Read more
