New anti-corruption laws and intensified law enforcement, in particular in OECD Member States, are motivating companies to implement sound anti-corruption compliance programmes. They will help reduce risk, but they may also serve as a business argument. Yet, companies are increasingly voicing the need for a harmonised approach to compliance. The OECD Guidance enacted in 2010 may well serve as a template for such a standard since it has been adopted by the Member States of the OECD by unanimity.
Publication
Non-State Actors as Standard Setters
This analysis of 'globalised' standard-setting processes draws together insights from law, political sciences, sociology and social anthropology to assess the authority and accountability of non-state actors and the legitimacy and effectiveness of the processes. The essays offer new understandings of current governance problems, including environmental and financial standards, rules for military contractors and complex public-private partnerships, such as those intended to protect critical information infrastructure.
In this interview, Richard Bistrong, former international sales executive and current blogger and speaker on FCPA, compliance and anti-bribery issues, speaks with Sherbir Panag of MZM Legal, where they discuss bribery and anti-bribery compliance in India. Mr Panag stresses that despite very real corruption risks in the country, business in India is possible without bribery.
For companies to achieve this, an anti-bribery strategy must focus on knowing the challenge and preparing for it, and avoiding avenues of bribery.
By Patricia E. Dowden and Philip M. Nichols. This article was originally published by the Russian International Affairs Council on 25 December, 2014. Republished here with permission.
By Virna Di Palma, Director of the TRACE Anti-Bribery Specialist Accreditation and Senior Director of Global Strategy and Communications at TRACE International, an anti-bribery business organisation.
By Frederic Wehrlé
Although there is no statutory obligation for companies to engage in anti-corruption Collective Action, there are references to it in guidance documents that have been issued by governments in relation to laws prohibiting bribery. These guidelines are used by companies when developing or reviewing their anti-corruption compliance programs, as well as when defining the scope of internal policies and procedures.
Comments from the Basel Institute on Governance Conference on Anti-Corruption Collective Action to address corporate and multi-stakeholder initiatives against bribery and extortion:
On 12 May 2014 the government of Ukraine took a step to help encourage much needed foreign investment into the country by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and several business associations, addressing bribery and promoting transparency and accountability.
The Basel Institute released its fifth edition of the Basel Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Index today. The Index is an annual ranking assessing the money laundering/terrorism financing risks of 149 countries.