The world’s most corrupt countries have been revealed in Transparency International’s 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index. The big movers in this year’s index are the UK, whose score has improved by eight points since 2012, and Australia, whose score has fallen by eight. Usual...

Universities in the United States received a record $43.6 billion in donations from individuals, companies and organisations in 2017. But recent scandals show that universities must not neglect due diligence on the source of these donations. Top marks for university fundraisers 2017 was...

For the latest installment of our Q&A series, we spoke with Simon Baptist of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). More than 100 economists and experts at the EIU analyze political and economic risks for some of the world’s biggest companies. As Global Chief Economist and Managing Director...

Nothing evokes the public and personal perils of high-level corruption more powerfully than photos of the billionaire chairman of a corporate conglomerate being led to a prison bus in handcuffs. Or almost nothing. Images of his 95-year-old wheelchair-bound father, the founder of the conglomerate, leaving...

Environmental and social issues driving change in the construction industry Guest Post by Colleen Theron, Director Ardea Since Russia and Qatar won their bids to host the FIFA World Cups in 2018 and 2022 respectively, the construction industry has come under the spotlight for their human rights...

College basketball in the United States is watched by millions and has become lucrative for the universities who compete and the companies who sponsor the teams. But college sport can also carry reputational, legal, and financial risks. We have seen the latest reminder in New York this week, when prosecutors...

Since its introduction of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in 1977, the United States has led the world in efforts to counter bribery and corruption in corporate business that traverses national borders. Now it has gone a full step further with permanent adoption and expansion of its Corporate...

Kathryn Higgs is Director of Transparency International’s Business Integrity Program. Prior to that she was head of ethics and compliance at Tesco and chief compliance officer at Balfour Beatty. In an exclusive interview with LexisNexis, she says that technology has increased the risk of bribery...

The makers of Jim Beam whisky have paid $8 million to settle allegations of bribing government officials to enter the Indian market. The settlement is a timely reminder of the continued threat of FCPA enforcement action , and the particular risks posed by third parties in the food and drink industry...

Just three years ago, Teva Pharmaceuticals, a drug-maker in Israel, disclosed to both the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice that an on-going internal probe had revealed possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and/or local laws. Ultimately...

No industry is impervious to bribery and corruption risk, but companies linked to energy industries, in particular, face elevated risks in order to reap the equally-high rewards. It’s a topic we’ve touched on in blog posts on Unaoil and Petrobras . But anti-bribery and corruption regulations...

The global compliance landscape is becoming ever more complex, and some of the most significant recent developments in ABC and AML legislation have happened in the UK. All companies who operate in the UK need to be aware of these laws, as well as growing consumer expectations of ethical behavior, if...

Companies are exposed to regulatory, financial, reputational and strategic risks, and the number of countries and NGOs with compliance expectations is on the rise. The best way to proactively manage these expectations? Risk-based due diligence and ongoing monitoring. 1—Regulatory risks...

Petrobras has reached a $1.78 billion settlement with the DOJ and SEC over bribes to politicians and political parties in Brazil. This is the first time an enforcement action over FCPA violations has exceeded a billion dollars. The amount is bigger than the nearest two settlements combined, and the case...

As the aftermath of corporate corruption and ethics scandals continue to play out in news headlines and courtrooms, spurring a continued search for expert advice and best practices on mitigating compliance risk . So, when a former compliance expert at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and a Harvard...

Three quarters of the world’s biggest exporting countries are failing to punish corporations that pay bribes overseas, according to a new report from the NGO Transparency International. The report shows that there are vast differences in the level of risk of bribery and corruption in different...

Twenty-five years ago, the United Nations General Assembly declared October 17th International Day for the Eradication of Poverty . In marking the anniversary, the UN has stated that … “all people must come together to end poverty and discrimination in order to build a sustainable future...

A few years ago, we highlighted bribery and corruption vulnerabilities in the Energy sector, noting that “Companies linked to energy industries, in particular, face elevated risks in order to reap the equally high rewards.” But more recent events highlight the need for companies in this sector...

Forget about the turtles. Today is International Ninja Day, but what we’re on about has more to do with regulatory risk than teenagers or (as far as we know) mutants. Why does International Ninja Day make us think ‘compliance program’? International Ninja Day was the brainchild of...

If serious trivia seems like a contradiction, maybe you need to be more quizzical when it comes to anti-corruption compliance. January 4 is the one day of the year when there’s an excuse to be trivial—even in an area as serious as compliance in anti-bribery and corruption , anti-money laundering...

From AI to blockchain, companies are rapidly adopting new technologies which use data to drive business insights and manage risks more effectively . Our third volume of The Trust Issue explores how technology can also improve a company’s transparency and increase the trust it receives from customers...

Is anyone really surprised by the college admissions bribery scandal? Sure, it’s nice to think that academia is a bastion for the best and the brightest. But there’s a longstanding tradition where the family name—and perhaps an endowment—greases the wheels for less academically...

There’s no room for clowning about when it comes to risk management and maintaining the integrity of international business. According to records of ancient Chinese history, the armies of the Chu and Song states were facing each other in readiness for battle in 630 BC when a Chu warrior, Xiong...

One of Britain’s most famous art institutions has reversed a sponsorship deal after it was revealed that the sponsor’s owner had backed a ban on teaching LGBT issues. As art organizations, universities and non-profits become more reliant on sponsorship rather than government funding, they...