FCPAméricas Blog
The World Bank’s Anti-Corruption Coordination with National Authorities
11.13.2012
How serious can The World Bank’s sanctions process really be? After all, the Bank’s investigators lack many of the powers that national authorities often take for granted. The powers to subpoena documents and search premises are just two examples. It is true that Bank investigators might have contractual audit rights. But what happens if the company under investigation happens to have lost the specific files that investigators wish to review?
Given these realities, does a company or individual under the microscope at the World Bank really need to worry?
Yes, for many reasons. Chief among them is the fact that The World Bank coordinates with national authorities. It does so often, and sometimes closely. When discussing this coordination, the Director of Operations at the Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency, Steve Zimmerman, recently stated, “we look for ways to leverage our resources.”
Consider the following:
Sharing Evidence. Not only does the Bank share its findings with national authorities after it sanctions a company or individual, it is common for the Bank to share the findings of an investigation that has not produced enough evidence to establish a sanctionable practice. The referral might include ... Read more
Brazil’s Draft Bribery Bill … in Context
11.07.2012
Those of us tracking developments of Brazil’s draft bribery bill have grown accustomed to delays. FCPAméricas has already discussed the bill here, here, and here.
But this week the Thomson Reuters Foundation sponsored a half-day conference in Brasilia that shined an important new light on the process. The event was bolstered by the participation of the congressman in charge of the special committee overseeing the bill, Congressman Carlos Zarattini, as well as Minister Jorge Hage Sobrinho of the Office of Comptroller General, the body that would be in charge of enforcing the foreign bribery aspects of the law. The conference provided insight into the context in which the Brazilian Co... Read more
When the CEO Says No to Compliance: FCPA Insights from Watergate’s Egil “Bud” Krogh
10.30.2012
A recent video posted by the Markkula Center of Applied Ethics highlights one of the most difficult ethical issues facing FCPA compliance officers – doing your job when the CEO does not want you to. FCPAméricas previously discussed the issue here.
In the video, the former CFO of RAE Systems, Randall Gausmann, who also oversaw the company’s FCPA compliance, discusses how he managed a two-and-a-half year internal investigation into the company’s FCPA violations that led to a $2.95 million settlement with U.S. enforcement authorities and over $4 million in professional investigation fees. These were significant amounts for a company with only $85 million in revenue each year.
Of particular note, Mr. Guasmann states that pursuing the investigation led to a falling out with his CEO: “Out of these investigations you often discover and learn unpleasant things and the role that various people in the company had in promulgating these problems.” Commenting on this video, th... Read more
