New decisions in the Italian legal system regarding corruption in the healthcare sector
The fight against corruption in the healthcare sector in Italy is exploring new and interesting paths. Many pharmaceutical and medical device companies have been indicted in the last years for corruptive practices to ensure the utilisation of their pharmaceutical or medical products in hospitals.
Released on Jun 11, 2024
Top five takeaways on corruption perception in Latin America: insights from professionals across the region
Nearly ten years after it started, one of the biggest corruption scandals in recent history, ‘Lava Jato’, or Operation Car Wash, continues to wind its way through the Brazilian courts. In January 2024, a Brazilian Supreme Court judge suspended the payment of more than US$2bn by Novonor (formerly Odebrecht) as part of a leniency agreement where executives admitted to bribing Brazilian officials.
Released on Jun 9, 2024
Anti-bribery and corruption developments in South Africa
South Africa has, for decades, been grappling with the malaise of corruption. This has had a concomitant negative impact on public confidence, hindered economic growth through irregular expenditure and eroded the effectiveness of government institutions. There have, however, been notable developments in the country's efforts to update and enforce measures to fight corruption, which are traversed in this article.
Released on Jun 9, 2024
Focus on the CJIPs concluded at the end 2023 by ADP Ingénierie and SEVES Group/SEDIVER for the corruption of foreign public officials
On 4 December 2023, the Paris judicial court (tribunal judiciaire de Paris) approved the last two conventions judiciaire d’intérêt public (CJIP) (deferred prosecution agreements) for the corruption of foreign public officials, signed between the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (Le procureur national financier or PNF) and ADP Ingénierie (ADPI) on the one hand and SEVES Group/SEDIVER on the other hand.
Released on Jun 9, 2024
Costa Rica strengthens its compliance and anti-corruption regulation
As part of Costa Rica's process of adherence to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), various laws have been enacted in order to strengthen the regulatory framework on compliance and anti-corruption. Part of these efforts are reflected in the recent enactment of two new laws that seek to strengthen our country's commitment to the fight against corruption and conform to high international standards, with special reference to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.
Released on Jun 9, 2024
Observations on new trends in Chinese anti-corruption laws and practice
In the Chinese legal system, provisions addressing commercial bribery are dispersed across various legal instruments and judicial interpretations. Among the different legal authorities in China, the core provisions guiding anti-corruption can be found in the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and its draft Amendment (issued in 2022 and still open for public comment); the Criminal Law of China, along with its amendments; and the Supervision Law of China and its accompanying regulations for implementation.
Released on Jun 9, 2024
Chile's new Economic Crimes Law
In August 2023, a new law on economic crimes came into force in Chile (Law No 21.595 or the ‘Economic Crimes Law’), which entails the most significant change in terms of criminal regulation since the promulgation of the Criminal Code in 1874. Anti-corruption matters are no exception and are also covered under this new law.
Released on Jun 9, 2024
Key considerations for effective compliance programmes in the Brazilian healthcare sector
Healthcare may be considered as one of the largest and most complex sectors in the world. Different legal entities and professionals provide services, devices, facilities and insurance, or goods and services to facilitate the provision of healthcare to patients, usually under strong regulation in most countries.
Released on Jun 9, 2024
Due diligence corporate sustainability: challenges and opportunities for LATAM companies
Supply chains, the arteries of global commerce, have empowered businesses, especially multinational corporations. However, this expansion has also exposed vulnerabilities, including human rights violations and environmental damage. In today's interconnected economy, with increasing awareness of the social and environmental impact of business operations, the integration of human rights considerations into supply chain management has emerged as a critical aspect of corporate sustainability.
Released on Jun 9, 2024
Webinar report: EU Whistleblower Directive: status of its implementation and related issues
A session report for the Anti-Corruption webinar ‘EU Whistleblower Directive: status of its implementation and related issues.
Released on Feb 8, 2024
World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders
This report primarily highlights the immediate and very concerning threats that fake content industry with AI technology, as well as political and social upheavals, poses to journalism around the globe.
Released on Aug 22, 2023
Report from 19th Annual IBA Anti-Corruption Conference – Panel 3
A report on a session from the 19th Annual IBA Anti-Corruption Conference, held 13–14 June in Paris, France.
Released on Aug 22, 2023
New regulation on whistleblowing in Italy: the role of the Supervisory Body and coordination with internal group reporting channels
On 9 March 2023, The Council of Ministers approved Legislative Decree 24/2023, which transposes the European Union Directive on the ‘Protection of individuals who report violations of EU regulations’ into Italian law.
Released on Aug 22, 2023
Anti-Corruption Committee sessions at the IBA Annual Conference, Miami, 30 October to 4 November 2022
This report outlines some of the topics discussed by panellists at sessions organised by the Anti-Corruption Committee at the IBA Annual Conference, Miami, 2022.
Released on Jan 13, 2023
Fighting corruption in Brazil: Federal Decree No 11,129 of 11 July 2022, regulating anti-corruption law
The Anti-Corruption Law was first regulated, at the federal level, by Decree No 8,420 of 18 March 2015. On 12 July 2022, more than seven years later, Federal Decree No 11,129 of 11 July 2022, which regulates Anti-Corruption Law and repeals Decree No. 8,420/2015, was published by the Brazilian government. This article provides a detailed overview of the new Decree.
Released on Jan 3, 2023
Overview of the AFA’s survey regarding French companies’ anti-corruption systems
Law No 2016-1691 of 9 December 2016 on transparency, the fight against corruption and modernisation of economic life (Sapin II Law) requires certain companies to take measures to prevent and detect acts of corruption or influence peddling.
Released on Jan 3, 2023
Officers’ liability under the FCPA and UKBA: risks to Indian operations
Directors and officers are at risk of personal liability under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and UK Bribery Act arising out of bribery-related misconduct in overseas corporate operations. These risks are heightened when it comes to operations in bureaucratic and corruption-prone countries. This article considers enforcement hot spots in India as well as potential precautionary measures to mitigate risks.
Released on Jan 3, 2023
Conducting internal investigation interviews in Latin America: dos and don’ts
This article analyses the challenges which might be faced when conducting interviews in the context of internal investigations in Latin American countries. It also provides an insight into some of the best practices to adopt when conducting such interviews
Released on Jan 3, 2023
Itaewon, Sewol and the promise of ‘never again’: compliance, speaking up and complex remediation in the realm of public safety*
In the anti-corruption compliance field, when we conduct internal investigations and subsequent root cause analyses, we seek to identify each critical point of failure that led to the undesired or improper conduct. This article considers the Itaewon disaster and subsequent responses from this perspective.
Released on Jan 3, 2023
Closing the loophole on virtual assets: international challenges and impacts on Brazil
The regulation of virtual assets, which seemed unchartered territory only a few years ago, is increasingly gaining the attention of government authorities. In this regard, many governments worldwide have recently decided to strengthen their supervision and regulation of such assets – especially in view of growing concerns relating to investor and market security.
Released on Jan 3, 2023
The Second Monaco Memo and its implications for Indian companies
This article analyses the latest revisions to the Monaco Memo and their possible implications for Indian companies and offers guidance on how to navigate the changes.
Released on Jan 3, 2023
Limits to compliance officers’ criminal liability in Brazil: the role of compliance in the society of risk
Modern society is a society of risk. This phenomenon was first described by Ulrich Beck as being a consequence of the modern society. According to Beck, risk is omnipresent because society is increasingly occupied with debating, preventing, and managing risks that it has itself produced. One of the consequences of the risk society phenomenon is the development of new criminal doctrines which seek to maximise prevention in the face of new criminal threats (‘criminal law for risks’).
Released on Sep 14, 2022
Jurisdiction and powers of international arbitral tribunals when dealing with allegations of corruption
Arbitrators are regularly confronted with corruption issues either because corruption has been alleged by one of the parties or because certain facts lead to a suspicion of corruption. This article aims to understand the role of arbitrators in the global fight against corruption including whether they have jurisdiction to decide on those issues and whether they can investigate those matters sua sponte.
Released on Sep 14, 2022
Q: ‘Did you conduct an internal investigation at the time?’ A: ‘By virtue of which text?’
‘Did you conduct an internal investigation at the time?’ This is how an investigating judge questioned our client during a first appearance hearing concerning 20 year-old facts.
Released on Sep 14, 2022
Brazilian government sales: how to address risks in integrity programmes
The government or public sector, is one of the most important clients, if not the major client for a significant number of companies doing business in Brazil. This means that companies are constantly exposed to the intricacies of government sales and to its risks.
Released on Sep 14, 2022
Dos and don’ts when conducting cross-border internal investigations in Latin America
This article analyses key challenges which could be faced when conducting a cross-border internal investigations involving Latin American jurisdictions. It also provides insight into some of the best practices to adopt when organising and launching such an investigation.
Released on Sep 14, 2022
Disappearing messages: updating best practices
Released on Sep 13, 2022
Bridging the UNCAC gap: India’s need for legislation banning the bribery of foreign public officials
Following its ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, India’s parliament has sought to implement various legislative reforms to fulfil its obligations under the Convention. While several attempts have been made to introduce legislation banning the bribery of foreign public officials, none have so far been successful. This article conducts an analysis of India’s latest attempt at promulgating such a law through the Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill, 2019.
Released on Sep 13, 2022
Comments on Brazil’s new foreign exchange law
Brazil’s new Foreign Exchange Law comes into effect during 2022. It will promote broad changes in Brazil’s capital market and represents a milestone for the nation’s business environment, as it should facilitate operations in the financial and economic market and increase the circulation of BRL (Brazilian Reais) in the foreign exchange market.
Released on Apr 28, 2022
Whistleblowers: yet another reform in the pipeline
The objective of the deputies backing bill No 4398, approved by the Senate on 16 February 2022, was ‘to strengthen the protection of whistleblowers’. The authors of this article fear that it will give rise to difficulties of interpretation by labour or criminal courts, which would have the jurisdiction to rule on the merits of a whistleblower’s warning.
Released on Apr 25, 2022