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    Apr. 23, 2025

U.K. Launches U.S.-Style Whistleblower Reward Program to Combat Tax Fraud – SFO May Be Next

Representing whistleblowers does not garner the same respect in London as it does in the United States, but these attitudes are starting to change. In a guest article, Mary Inman, a founding partner of Whistleblowers Partners LLP, discusses the expansion of a whistleblower incentives program to identify tax fraud in the United Kingdom and movement toward a similar program at the SFO. See this two-part series on the DOJ’s Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program: “A Look at Forfeiture and Culpability” (Aug. 14, 2024), and “Exclusions, NDAs and Goals” (Sep. 11, 2024).

Regional Risk Spotlight: Nigeria Poses Written and Unwritten Corruption Risks

Nigeria has some of the largest petroleum reserves in the world, making its extractive sector highly attractive to foreign investors. However, local laws in Nigeria require any company seeking to invest in that resource to partner with the government-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company. And this is not the only local law foreign investors and companies seeking to do business in Nigeria must be aware of. The Anti-Corruption Report spoke with Ikemesit Effiong, a partner at risk and geopolitics research firm SBM Intelligence and chair of the technology committee at the Nigerian Bar Association’s Section on Business Law, to discuss the current state of bribery and corruption enforcement in Nigeria and what companies seeking to do business there need to know. See “How Energy Companies Can Manage Heightened Anti-Corruption Risk” (Oct. 23, 2024).

When and How to Audit Foreign Third Parties

Business relationships are governed by contracts that lay out rights and responsibilities for all parties. Auditing, at its most basic level, is just checking to make sure that a company’s business partners are behaving in alignment with those contractual obligations. Auditing third parties ensures that representations and warranties have been met, goods and services are delivered on time and in the proper manner, and funds are being used appropriately. However, third parties are often reluctant to open their books or their doors to outsiders, making this a challenging task. In a recent Strafford webinar, John Davis, a member at Miller & Chevalier, and Chris Miller, lead counsel for compliance and regional compliance officer for North America at General Motors shared how companies can take a risk-based approach to auditing their foreign third parties. See “Auditing Third Parties: A Ten-Step Checklist” (Nov. 29, 2017).

Novartis Appoints New Chief Legal and Compliance Officer

Novartis has announced that chief ethics and compliance officer Klaus Moosmayer is stepping down. In his place, Karen Hale, who is currently chief legal officer, has been appointed to the expanded role of chief legal and compliance officer. Hale, based in Basel, Switzerland, will lead the firm’s ethics risk and compliance function and will remain on the executive committee of Novartis. Moosmayer has been nominated to the advisory board of Deutsche Bank. See “Klaus Moosmayer of Novartis Explains Why Holistic Risk Assurance Is the Future of Compliance” (Jun. 23, 2021).

Five Steps for Effective Board Oversight on Cybersecurity Breach Response

New cybersecurity regulations, along with an uptick in post-breach regulatory enforcement actions and civil litigation, continue to push corporate boards toward more active oversight of their organizations’ cybersecurity risks and programs. This increasing pressure leaves some boards questioning how and to what extent they should be involved in responding to significant cybersecurity incidents. In this guest article, Alston & Bird partners Kim Peretti and Cara Peterman, and senior associate Lance Taubin, address the evolving regulatory and litigation landscape impacting the board’s cyber-risk governance and the role of boards in overseeing breach response and related disclosures. They also offer five steps for effective board oversight of cybersecurity incident response. See “Navigating SEC Cybersecurity Enforcement in a Post-SolarWinds World” (Jan. 3, 2024).

Most-Read Articles

Women to Watch: Contributions, Achievements and Observations of Outstanding Female Professionals

To mark International Women’s Day, women editors and reporters at ION Analytics interviewed outstanding women in the industries and jurisdictions we cover. In this part, Law Report Group editors Jill Abitbol, Robin L. Barton and Megan Zwiebel profile notable women in data privacy, cybersecurity, private funds and anti-corruption law, including Anne-Gabrielle Haie, Jessica Lee, Micaela McMurrough, Laura Perkins, Amanda Raad, Madelyn Calabrese, Ranah Esmaili and Genna Garver. Enjoy reading their inspiring remarks here.

Spotlight on Trailblazing Women

To mark International Women’s Day 2024, women editors and reporters of ION Analytics interviewed outstanding women in the industries and jurisdictions we cover. In this part, Jill Abitbol, Managing Editor of the Cybersecurity Law Report and Anti-Corruption Report, features notable women in data privacy, cybersecurity, white collar defense, compliance and anti-corruption law, including Christina Montgomery, Leslie Shanklin, Palmina Fava, Alexandra Ross and Lucinda Low. Enjoy reading their inspiring remarks here.

Ion Analytics' Spotlight on Trailblazing Women

In honor of International Women’s Day, some of ION Analytics' editorial teams led by women interviewed notable women in the markets and industries we cover. This part highlights notable women in compliance and hedge fund, data privacy and cybersecurity, and anti-corruption law, including Amii Barnard-Bahn, Abigail Bell, Genna Garver, Jane Horvath, Barbara Li, Amy Mushahwar, Mara Senn and Carol Widger. The interviews are here.

Data, Culture, ESG and Scope Creep with GM's Michael Ortwein

The Anti-Corruption Report spoke with chief compliance officer and assistant general counsel at General Motors, Michael Ortwein, who shared his insights on top-of-mind issues in advance of his participation in ACI's FCPA Conference. 

The full video is here. The associated article is here.

Corporate Compliance and Enforcement Hot Topics With IBM VP Una Dean

The Anti-Corruption Report spoke with IBM's vice president and assistant general counsel of investigations Una Dean, who co-chaired ACI's FCPA conference, about a range of hot compliance topics. 

The video is here

Quick Take on FARA

https://acuris.wistia.com/medias/wmb5vyeq2f

The Anti-Corruption Report discusses the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in this short video. For our three-part guide to FARA and the new risk environment, see here.

ACR Editor Discusses Using Artificial Intelligence to Support Anti-Corruption Compliance

Senior Editor Megan Zwiebel recently appeared on a podcast with Perkins Coie White Collar & Investigations partners Gina LaMonica and Caryn Trombino, who discussed the use of AI in compliance programs, including trends in AI-based compliance, steps companies can take to utilize AI in their compliance programs, and how regulators view the use of data and AI in compliance programs. Listen to the podcast here.

ACR Q3 Editorial Update

Listen to our Fall Editorial Update for a discussion of recent enforcement actions; enforcement trends and policies; and top-of-mind issues, such as internal investigations and hotlines, all in under 15 minutes. Register here.

ACR and CSLR Spring Update 2020

​​​​The Senior Editors of the Anti-Corruption Report and the Cybersecurity Law Report recently teamed up to present an update on the trends and hot topics in the anti-corruption, cybersecurity and data privacy spaces since the beginning of the year and what the publications will be focusing on in the coming months. A complimentary download of the webinar is available here.

Upcoming Webinar to Explore Best Practices for AML Compliance by Private Fund Managers

Please join our sister product, the Hedge Fund Law Report, on Thursday, May 30, 2019, at 11:00 a.m. EDT, for a complimentary webinar discussing the key components of a robust anti-money laundering program. To register for the webinar, click here.

ACR Webinar: The Art and Science of Transaction Monitoring: A Google Perspective

Transaction monitoring can help a company identify problem areas and assess how well its compliance program is working. Please join the Anti-Corruption Report for a complimentary webinar on May 2, 2019, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EDT, where Senior Editor Megan Zwiebel will interview Google global ethics & compliance senior counsel Therese Lee and forensic program manager Aditya Yerramilli about how Google handles the art and science of transaction monitoring. Registration information is here.

ACR Webinar: Mitigating Risk in Argentina After the Notebooks Scandal

Doing business in a country that is embroiled in a mega-scandal can be treacherous. This is particularly true when the local business community is slow to get on the compliance bandwagon, as has been the case in Argentina while the Notebooks Scandal has been unfolding. Please join the Anti-Corruption Report on April 17, 2019, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EDT for a complimentary webinar in which Editor-in-Chief Nicole Di Schino will discuss how to mitigate risk in light of the developing scandal with Argentinian attorney Guillermo Jorge, a partner at Bruchou, Fernandez Madero & Lombardi, and Barrick Gold’s Jonathan Drimmer. To register, please click here.