By Alec Diamond
France is ranked
a lowly 23rd in Transparency International’s Public Corruption
Perception Index. In recent years, French companies like Alstom and Total have
been forced to pay millions of dollars to U.S. authorities over bribery
allegations. The French Finance Minister, Michel Sapin, finding the nation’s
foreign corruption record insulting, has announced a new
anti-corruption bill. Provisions will include increased protections for
whistleblowers (an important tool used by the U.S. DOJ to identify potential
FCPA violations), the creation of an anti-corruption agency, and a ban on large
gifts to government officials. Time will tell if this new bill generates
comparable revenue through fines to the FCPA in the United States.
Interestingly, the government dropped plans to provide for guilty pleas in
exchange for financial settlements under the new laws (most cases that have
been brought by U.S. authorities end in settlement rather than trial).
By Jeff Najjar
The International Monetary Fund has warned it will cease its $40 billion bailout
program to Ukraine unless the country takes substantial efforts to improve
governance and tackle corruption. The
IMF’s warning follows the recent resignation of Ukraine’s economic minister, Aivaras
Abomavicius, after he alleged that a senior aide to the country’s president was
blocking his anti-corruption reforms.
The Ukrainian economy is contracting at an annual rate of more than 7%,
and the IMF program remains critical to the country’s efforts to prevent a
more widespread economic collapse. Ukraine’s
president has recently reassured Christine Lagarde—the head of the
IMF—that he was committed to following a reform path to keep the nation’s
bailout on track.
By Jeff Najjar
The International Monetary Fund has warned it will cease its $40 billion bailout
program to Ukraine unless the country takes substantial efforts to improve
governance and tackle corruption. The
IMF’s warning follows the recent resignation of Ukraine’s economic minister, Aivaras
Abomavicius, after he alleged that a senior aide to the country’s president was
blocking his anti-corruption reforms.
The Ukrainian economy is contracting at an annual rate of more than 7%
and the IMF program remains critical to the country’s efforts to prevent a
more widespread economic collapse. Ukraine’s
president has recently reassured Christine Lagarde—the head of the
IMF—that he was committed to following a reform path to keep the nation’s
bailout on track.
By Matthew
Richardson
91% of Ghanaians believe that the police are
corrupt – higher than the percentage for politicians. That’s really saying
something. But what’s most surprising is that new research shows that when the salaries
of Ghanaian cops were raised, so were the bribes they demanded. The
long-standing theory that petty corruption is a response to under-resourcing of
enforcement officers looks much weaker in the face of results like this. For
those interested in the public policy tools available for anti-corruption,
appealing to the better nature of crooked cops by providing a living wage may
not be the panacea so many expected.
By Collin David Swan*
Enforcement of anti-corruption
laws is on the rise. Indeed, it is no secret that civil and criminal
actions against businesses and individuals for anti-corruption violations has
increased over the last few years. But it is perhaps less well-known
that governments around the globe are also increasing their use of suspension
and debarment—which are legal mechanisms used by governments to exclude private
sector entities and individuals from public procurement contracts—to avoid
doing business with suppliers perceived as corrupt or unbearably risky.
The United States is no exception
to the trend. The 2015 annual report from the U.S. Interagency Suspension & Debarment Committee
(ISDC) to Congress reveals that the number of debarment actions
undertaken by U.S. agencies has increased steadily over the last six years—from
669 debarments in FY 2009 to 1,929 debarments in FY 2014. The number of
suspensions has also increased to 1,009 actions in FY 2014, which represents a
142% increase from FY 2009 (417 actions). The ISDC is an interagency
body working to provide support for suspension and debarment programs across
numerous executive agencies and thus has unique visibility into government-wide
trends in suspension and debarment activities.
By Alexander Diamond
The CEO of
China’s fourth largest steel producer is being investigated for violations of Chinese
anti-corruption law. This pursuit of yet another industrial leader follows
a massive crackdown on corruption by the CCDI (the CPC’s anti-corruption
authorities) that has led to the arrest of some of China’s most powerful
politicians, military officers, and industrialists. Although Chinese
authorities have only pursued charges against one foreign citizen thus far,
this domestic enforcement trend has significant implications for both Chinese
and international businesses who can no longer rely on the long-accepted
informal guanxi system of gift/favor
giving to political allies. Time will tell if the increasingly powerful CCDI
begins to consistently pursue charges against increasingly integrated
U.S. businesses that are already subject to FCPA enforcement actions.
By Rick Mendenhall
Missing
Brazilian World Cup Soccer? (Apart from that soul-trampling loss to Germany…)
Check out the next best thing, a symposium on Brazilian arbitration
this Monday September 15, 2014 from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. on Gewirz’s 12th
Floor. Unlike the World Cup, I guarantee it will not end in tears or
twelve-letter profanities. Speakers will tackle Anti-Corruption Compliance and
other trends.
For
more information on Brazilian arbitration click this groovy link from the Kluwer Arbitration
Blog. No, really, click the link. It’s a Georgetown Alum destroying
Investing Across Border’s summary on
Brazilian arbitration.
