Construction, Extractive (incl. oil & gas), Financial Services, News & what's on - Written by on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 7:06 - 0 Comments

Free Anti-Bribery & Corruption Masterclass

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The Kroll Global Fraud Report published yesterday says that companies are not prepared for the increasing enforcement activity under the US Foreign & Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the impact of the new UK Bribery Act when it comes into force in April 2011.

Key themes to emerge include a general lack of understanding in the business world of the reach of the new law and its application.

This is a worrying conclusion against clear and consistent warnings from the regulators and a back drop of a surge of enforcement activity.

To educate the General Counsel and senior management of the new law we shall be running a limited series of free interactive industry sector specific workshops.

We shall only have limited space and times and so if you are interested in attending please pre register your interest by notifying us here.

Free Industry Sector Workshops

The workshops will take place in early 2011, in our office in London.

Each will be geared to a specific industry sector (Pharmaceutical & medical device, construction, defence, oil & gas/extractive,  information technology/media and financial services) and will look at the specific risk areas in each sector covered.

The focus of the workshops will be the practical implications of the new law and compliance with it in that sector.

Experts from the law and industry

Speakers will include experts from outside the legal profession experienced in dealing with the practical issues thrown up the sector covered.

When

The timing of the workshops will follow the publication of the final guidance to be issued by the Ministry of Justice in relation to “Adequate Procedures” to prevent bribery the only defence under the Bribery Act. This is anticipated in early 2011.

The workshops will be conducted in a fun and interactive way and shall aim to educate on the “big four” questions:

1.The law

What is the new Bribery Act and who does it apply to?

2.What happens in the real world

An interactive industry specific case study highlighting the problems in the industry.

3. The defence

Consider what businesses need to do to ensure they can invoke the defence under the Bribery Act if bribery takes place generally and in the context of the relevant sector.

4. Crisis management

What you need to know if your business receives the dreaded “Knock” from the SFO.

The workshops will be geared to general counsel, ethics officers and Board Members responsible for compliance (the SFO have indicated that these matters must be dealt with at Board level and that Anti-Bribery and Corruption must be a fixture on the agenda of every Board Meeting).

Looking at the sectors in more detail:

1. Pharmaceutical and Medical Device

This sector is currently the subject of a US Department of Justice investigation.  The UK SFO issued a stark warning to this sector at a recent conference.

2. Construction

Already the subject of a number of prosecutions and settlements in the UK and considered to be a high risk sector by the SFO.  A year ago the SFO reportedly wrote to 100 construction companies encouraging them to investigate and self report corruption.

3. Defence

A sector which has seen a high level of interest from the UK and US regulators with corresponding amounts of publicity (for example the numerous column inches occupied by BAE Systems).

4. Oil & Gas and extractive industries

Another sector which has seen a high level of interest from the UK and US regulators and which operates in geographic locations where there is a high risk of corruption.

5. Information Technology and Media

The IT industry attracted little attention until Hewlett Packard revealed it was under investigation earlier this year. Some commentators have questioned if this may spark a more detailed review of the industry by the regulators.  We shall cover the media industry at the same time given its heavy dependancy on technology.

6. Financial Services

London is one of the world capitals of financial services and it is anticipated that this will be an area of focus.  The Financial Services Authority recently reported that the insurance broking industry was not ready for the Bribery Act.

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