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...

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 U.S. Corporate Enforcement Policy, which incentivises companies to self-disclose bribery and corruption when they come across it, now applies to U.S. companies which are merging with or acquiring foreign companies. That’s according to a recent speech by a senior official at the Department of...

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...

French bank Société Générale expects to pay penalties of nearly $1.3 billion to settle allegations of breaching U.S.sanctions. It made dollar transfers on behalf of entities based in countries which were subject to U.S.sanctions. The fine is just the latest evidence of the...

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...

2018 has been a record year of penalties issued for breaches of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Settlements totaling more than $2.96 billion were agreed by corporations found to be in breach of the Act. The year saw further indications of the FCPA’s global reach, witnessed the first judgments...

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...

Is it time for universities—and the foundations that fundraise on their behalf—to adopt the rigorous due diligence and risk monitoring processes that global companies use? Based on the latest bribes-for-admission scandal to hit the headlines, the answer is a resounding, “YES!”...

There were only three FCPA enforcement actions in the first quarter of 2019, but the small number obscures a bigger threat to corporate bottom lines—fines totalling $1.1 billion. This figure eclipses the total settlements in Q1 2018—also for three corporate enforcement actions—of a...

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...