IMPORTANCE OF A MEANINGFUL ANTI-BRIBERY AND ANTI-CORRUPTION COMPLIANCE PROGRAMME
Organisations globally, in both the public and private sectors, face commercial crime risks. These risks include falling victim to theft, fraud, corruption, money laundering and cyber crime. Various threat actors include an organisation’s business partners, service providers, suppliers, agents, consultants, employees and third-party intermediaries, as well as unknown third parties.
Corruption continues to be a key commercial crime risk faced by organisations globally. No industry sector or organisation is immune from such activity.
Many organisations tend to be more reactive as opposed to proactively mitigating this risk. The cost of anti-corruption compliance is often seen by the C-suite as a grudge expense. Many organisations shy away from expending the requisite investment and resources to develop a meaningful anti-corruption compliance programme.
However, this ideology quickly changes once an organisation is faced with the harsh reality of falling victim to some or other type of corrupt activity. The financial and reputational costs can be quite severe and, in some instances, cripple an organisation.
The financial costs of dealing with corruption include not only the actual loss that may be suffered but also the cost of investigating such incidents, the costs of any ensuing legal processes (such as disciplinary, civil or criminal proceedings) as well as potential regulatory penalties that may be imposed in certain jurisdictions. For example, in the US, organisations have faced significant penalties amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars for violations of the 1977 US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
Jan-Mar 2024 Issue
CMS RM Partners Inc