Multinational companies are no strangers to problems of corruption in their supply chains, which can bring significant legal, financial and reputational risks. Especially when entering new markets, many companies find it difficult to identify credible local partners and to assess their adherence to anti-corruption regulations.

Within days of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, Western governments imposed unprecedented economic sanctions against the Russian state and certain Russian oligarchs. They are now working to identify and freeze assets linked to sanctioned individuals and entities – a magnificent challenge in itself.

The Wolfsberg Group – an association of 13 global banks that develops frameworks and guidance to manage financial crime risks – became an independent legal entity in October 2021. Its new home is at the Basel Institute on Governance headquarters in Switzerland.

The United Kingdom’s Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act received Royal Assent on 15 March 2022.

The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) has launched tailored guidance on measures that companies in the oil, gas and mining sectors can adopt to reduce corruption risks when partnering with state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Our joint chapter in a new book on Perspectives on Antitrust Compliance answers a common question that arises when compliance officers and company lawyers first hear about anti-corruption Collective Action: are there antitrust risks in engaging with other industry players through Collective Action?

The short answer is no. The longer answer is, as we explain in the chapter, “quite the opposite”.

Initiatives such as International Women’s Day and the International Gender Champions Network, of which our Managing Director is a member, are helping to shift the needle towards a world free of gender-based discrimination. So are moves to mainstream gender in development programmes, including those focused on anti-corruption.

Part 2 of a guest interview with Aidan Larkin, CEO of Asset Reality. Part 1 covered the scope of illicit activity involving crypto assets and why some States are recovering far more crypto assets than others, plus issues around international and public-private cooperation.

A guest interview with Aidan Larkin, CEO of Asset Reality. Aidan presented on Demystifying crypto asset recovery at the 5th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptocurrencies, a joint conference of the Basel Institute on Governance, Europol and INTERPOL on 8-9 December 2021.