FCPAméricas Blog
The Ideal Compliance Officer … as Described by Top Compliance Officers
2.13.2013
FCPAméricas has written about the ideal compliance team. How about the ideal compliance officer?
That person was described today 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.
Top AML compliance officers from Citigroup, American Express Bank Mexico, CapitalOne, and other banks offered the following perspectives on the traits that make up a successful compliance officer. As you will see, the insights apply as much to anti-corruption compliance professionals as they do to AML professionals. (Note that the officers also made observations about where compliance fits within an organization, described in this post.)
“Our jobs are quickly shifting to prioritizing risks, documenting h... Read more
Corruption and Football, and Reforming FIFA
2.09.2013
No region in the world might have more passion for football (soccer) than Latin America. And where there is passion, there is money. And where there is money, there is corruption.
One example of corruption in football might be FIFA, the International Federation of Association Football. It is the federation of 209 national football organizations. It oversees the World Cup. For years now, the organization has been plagued by accusations of greed, corruption, and abuse.
How can problems arise in such an organization? Consider FIFA’s marketing power. Football is the most popular sport in the world with an estimated fan base of more than 3.5 billion fans. As a result, FIFA’s marketing contracts are high dollar. This creates the opportunity for FIFA to award them based on kickbacks.
Countries might also seek to buy votes during the World Cup hosting decision process. In addition, those in leadership roles might buy votes to stay in control. Tickets to the best events could be distributed in return for favors.
The media is not the only one highlighting FIFA’s problems. Corporate partners, like Coca-Cola, Adidas, and Visa, have complained about the negative press and what it does to the game itself. Even Argentin... Read more
Colombia Now Subject to OECD Anti-Bribery Working Group Review (and what this means)
2.07.2013
Colombia joined the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention on January 19, 2013. This should have significant effects on the country. Just ask Mexico, Brazil, the UK, and Canada. These countries, and others, have been inspired to improve their foreign bribery laws due to, more than anything, the periodic compliance reviews conducted by the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions (the OECD Working Group) as part of Convention membership.
Colombia is now the fifth Latin American country to embrace the Convention’s provisions prohibiting foreign bribery. As of January, it now commits to implementing and enforcing laws that are very similar to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. It also commits to periodic Working Group reviews. This means that Colombia’s anti-corruption laws will now be under the international spotlight. The international community can applaud progress, scrutinize delay, and offer support and technical assistance to facilitate compliance with the treaty.
What exactly is the OECD Working Group? The program has functioned for almost twenty years now,... Read more
