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Compendium Roundup
This month, Hewlett-Packard Company ("HP") agreed to pay $108 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") to settle charges of violating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"). According to court documents, HP's subsidiaries in Russia, Poland, and Mexico paid bribes through agents and consultants and in the form of lavish gifts in order to win and retain multi-million dollar government contracts for information technology products and services. In Russia, the SEC and DOJ alleged that HP's subsidiary paid more than $2 million in bribes to win a government contract for computer hardware and software. Despite questions that were raised by the company's employees at the Russian subsidiary about the significant markup being paid, the deal went through without any meaningful due diligence. In Poland, HP's subsidiary allegedly gave over $600,000 in cash and gifts through its public sector sales manager, who arranged for the public official to receive a percentage of net revenue earned from the contracts. In Mexico, sales managers at HP's subsidiary allegedly used a pass-through entity to pay inflated commissions to a consultant, who was not an approved deal partner and had not been subjected to the due diligence required under company policy. The SEC and DOJ acknowledged HP's extensive cooperation and remediation efforts in the charging documents.
There have also been developments for Qualcomm Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, MOL Group, and Eni SpA.
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On the Blog
This month on the TRACE Blog we reviewed trends in TRACE's 2013 Global Enforcement Report (GER), including the increase in non-U.S. enforcement, the proliferation of parallel prosecutions and the backdrop of new or strengthened anti-bribery legislation in several countries.
The TRACE Blog also took a close look at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit's recent decision in National Association of Manufacturers v. Securities and Exchange Commission, where the court found that requiring companies to declare whether their products are "DRC conflict free" according to the Dodd-Frank Act forced commercial speech in violation of the Constitution's First Amendment. Other conflict mineral requirements in the Act, however, remain intact.
Read these stories and more at traceblog.org!
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Anti-corruption reporting becomes more transparent in Europe. The European Parliament adopted the long-awaited directive on the disclosure of non-financial and diversity information, which requires large public-interest entities with more than 500 employees to disclose anti-corruption and bribery matters, among other things, in their management reports.
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U.S.-based information technology company settles FCPA charges. Hewlett-Packard Company agreed to pay a $108 million settlement with the DOJ and SEC due to allegations that its subsidiaries paid bribes in Russia, Poland, and Mexico.
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Dodd-Frank's Conflict Minerals rules are put to the test. A U.S. court of Appeals held that parts of Dodd-Frank's Conflict Minerals rules violate the First Amendment. Meanwhile, the first reported filing under the conflict minerals rule was made on Thursday April 24 by Taiwan-based Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd.
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DOJ investigates yet another company for FCPA violations in China. Qualcomm Inc, the world's biggest mobile chipmaker, announced in an SEC filing this month that it was under investigation by the DOJ for potential violations of the FCPA because of instances in which special hiring consideration, gifts or other benefits were provided to Chinese state-owned companies or agencies.
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Guinean government shakes up the mining industry. A Guinean government committee has recommended that BSG Resources Ltd., the mining arm of Israeli tycoon Beny Steinmetz, be stripped of its rights to the Simandou iron-ore project, after finding that the company had obtained the rights to Simandou through corruption.
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Books, White Papers and Articles
How to Pay a Bribe: Thinking Like a Criminal to Thwart Bribery Schemes
The 2014 Edition is finally here! Order it online.
From the cover: Revisit the furtive corporate backroom dealings of bribery and corruption in this second collection of works by authors, journalists, prosecutors and bribery experts from around the world. Behind the newspaper headlines and government investigations, these are the true to life stories of what leads people down bribery's crooked path. Explore the unscrupulous lengths to which some will go in order to win business, from using shady offshore front companies in the British Virgin Islands to setting up bogus charities in Eastern Europe. Whether you are a seasoned compliance expert or new to the field, each chapter in this collection offers practical advice while remaining an immensely engaging read.
The Global Enforcement Report (GER), now in its fourth year of publication,
provides graphic and textual analyses of all known enforcement actions-including investigations, prosecutions, settlements and cases settled with no finding of bribery-since the first bribery cases were prosecuted in the United States following the enactment of the FCPA.
View the full press release here. Download the complete GER with charts and further analysis here.
Articles
Finding the Right Chief Compliance Officer
16 April 2014 | Corporate Counsel | Alexandra Wrage
International Social Media and Freedom of Expression
21 April 2014 | Corporate Counsel | Alexandra Wrage
Podcasts
02 April 2014 | FCPA Ethics and Compliance Report | Thomas Fox interviews Virna Di Palma
15 April 2014 | ACFCS | Daniela Guzman interviews Eileen Radford
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Featured Resource: TRACE Certified Third Parties
Save time and money by working with pre-vetted third party business partners worldwide. Request a custom list of TRACE Certified Third Parties today by writing to [email protected].
Please note: lists are only available to TRACE Members.
Certification by TRACE signifies that the candidate has completed internationally accepted due diligence procedures and has been forthcoming and cooperative during the review process. The successful completion of TRACEcertification demonstrates a high commitment to commercial transparency.
- There are 5,000+ TRACE Certified SMEs in our database.
- Your custom report can include pre-vetted SMEs from almost every country.
- All TRACE Certified entities are required to complete our online anti-bribery training.
- The customized lists include sales agents, distributors and other third-party business partners who have undergone TRACEcertification and TRACEstandard reviews.
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TRACE Scholar Program
Thank you to everyone who helped spread the word about our new TRACE Scholar Program, which will fully fund, wit h tuition, lodging and travel, two international LLM students to pursue studies related to strategies and tools for increasing transparency and reducing corruption. Applications for this program are no longer being accepted but we are excited for the first TRACE Scholars to begin their studies in Fall 2014!
For more information and application details visit the TRACE Scholars webpage.
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TRACE Anti-Bribery Specialist Accreditation (TASA)
TASA is the only certification program available that is dedicated to anti-bribery compliance and offers over 100 courses taught by world-renowned faculty.
TASA integrates rigorous standards with a flexible learning environment. The certification process requires that candidates complete thirty hours of coursework before taking the accreditation exam which ensures students acquire the requisite knowledge. Earn an internationally recognized compliance credential. To learn more about TASA, view the catalog. To enroll in the TASA program, please write to [email protected].
June 24-25, 2014 * Chicago, IL
July 15-16, 2014 * Washington, DC
Upcoming live TASA accredited TRACE events:
June 18, 2014, Washington, DC
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TRACE was pleased to welcome over 100 member companies and intermediaries at workshops this month in Singapore (April 28) and Manila (April 30). Speakers discussed regional bribery risks, local anti-bribery laws and international compliance best practices.
Notably, the Manila workshop featured a panel, The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA): DOJ Enforcement Trends and Compliance Takeaways, with Daniel S. Kahn, Assistant Chief, FCPA Unit, US Department of Justice and Charles Duross, Partner, Morrison Foerster LLP, speaking via teleconference.
Please visit TRACE Workshops for more information.
If you are interested in speaking at TRACE workshops or events, please contact Virna Di Palma at
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Throughout the year, TRACE hosts complimentary senior-level roundtable discussions on compliance with anti-bribery regulations in multiple locations in the US and worldwide. These small-group discussions facilitate peer-to-peer interactions that focus on the priorities of each participant.
Washington, DC, June 18, 2014View agenda details here. This roundtable is being held exclusively for senior-level leaders in the field of anti-bribery compliance and is an invitation-only event.
Vancouver, July 29, 2014View agenda details here.
Fall 2014 Roundtables:
' New York, NY
' Houston, TX
' San Diego, CA
' New Delhi
To request an invitation or suggest locations for upcoming events, please write to [email protected].
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MAY
Ethics and Anti-Corruption / Bribery Programs - Internal Audit's Role WEBINAR May 13, 2014 Hosted by: The Institute of Internal Auditors Canada *Alexandra Wrage, TRACE President, speaking
Anti-Corruption France Paris, France May 13, 2014 Hosted by: C5 TRACE Members receive a 10% discount.
Dubai, UAE
S�o Paulo, Brazil
TRACE Members receive a $200 discount.
Anti-Corruption North Africa Paris, France May 14-15, 2014 Hosted By: C5
TRACE Members receive a 10% discount. *Severin Wirz, Manager, Advisory Services, speaking
European Compliance & Ethics Institute
London, UK
May 18-21, 2014
Hosted by: Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics
*Alexandra Wrage, TRACE President, speaking
New York, NY
May 19-20, 2014
TRACE Members receive a $200 discount.
Global Anti-Corruption & Compliance in Mining London, UK May 27-30, 2014 Hosted by: Resourceful Events TRACE Members receive a 25% discount. *Alexandra Wrage, TRACE President, speaking
JUNE
June 3-4, 2014
London, UK
June 5-6, 2014
Hosted by: MomentumTRACE Members receive a 15% discount. *Alexandra Wrage, TRACE President, speaking
Shanghai, China
June 17-18, 2014
Chicago, IL
June 24-25, 2014
London, UK
June 24-25, 2014
TRACE Members receive a 10% discount. *Eileen Radford, Director, Advisory Services, speaking
Grange Tower Bridge Hotel, London, UK
June 24-26, 2014
Hosted by: IBC LegalTRACE Members receive a 10% discount. *Eileen Radford, Director, Advisory Services, speaking
Basel, Switzerland
June 26-27, 2014
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News & Press
News Coverage of the GER 2013
25 March 2014 | Wall Street Journal Risk & Compliance | Rachel Ensign
31 March 2014 | Wall Street Journal Law Blog | Kathy Chu
31 March 2014 | Corporate Counsel |Rebekah Mintzer
01 April 2014 | Anti-Corruption & Asset Recovery Blog | James Maton
Survey: Anti-Bribery Enforcement is a World-Wide Trend
18 April 2014 | Today's General Counsel
News Coverage of the TRACE Scholar Program
3 April 2014 | Transparency International Philippines
10 April 2014 | Anti-Corruption Research Network
15 April 2014 | Youth Hub Africa
2014 TRACE LLM Scholarship in USA for Developing Countries
17 April 2014 | Scholars Hub Africa
Other News Coverage
Nonprofits and Demands for Transparency and Disclosure
24 April 2014 | NPQ (Nonprofit Quarterly) | Rick Cohen
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Sincerely,
151 West Street Annapolis, Maryland 21401 410-990-0076 | 410-990-0707 (fax) www.traceinternational.org |
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