By Monique Carroll and Jessica Bounds King&WoodMallesons’ Melbourne office
Australia’s regulatory landscape is constantly changing and companies must stay ahead of the curve. In the anti-bribery and corruption space, a large number of legislative changes have been proposed which, if introduced, will significantly increase the level of vigilance required by companies.
Continue Reading Anti-bribery and Corruption in Australia
作者：Ian Hargreaves Robert Bolgar-Smith 金杜律师事务所伦敦办公室
在
多个司法管辖区经营的公司长期面临遵守各国监管制度的重担，这些监管制度差异巨大、日新月异。然而监管机构还一直在扩大监管内容和管辖范围。
英国《2010年反贿赂法》和美国《1977年反海外腐败法》等法规在领土范围之外也广泛适用，因此，涉足英美的外国公司可能面临巨额罚款，其雇员和董事也可能面临刑事处罚。
监管制度适用范围的扩大带来了更为透明的合规文化。我们发现在交易工作的尽职调查阶段，对于反贿赂和合规要求（以下简称“反贿赂和合规尽职调查”）的重视度大幅上升。
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By Liu Xiangwen, Monique Carroll and Zhu Yuanyuan King & Wood Mallesons’ Dispute Resolution Group
Much has been written on bribery and corruption in China, including the differences between criminal bribery and commercial bribery, and of course, the need for an effective compliance programme. However, foreign companies operating in certain complex or sensitive industries in China need to do more than instil an anti-corruption policy. What is needed is an in-depth understanding of the unique legal environment in their industries. This is because in some industries, particular conduct or business models permitted elsewhere, may be very sensitive and considered bribery or corruption. We recommend that companies operating in China adapt their compliance programme to account for industry specific regulations and sensitivities and undertake regular internal compliance audits as a check on the effectiveness of the compliance programme and to ensure that it remains up-to-date.
Continue Reading What does an Effective Anti-bribery and Corruption Programme Require?
By Liu Xiangwen, Monique Carrroll, Yang Jianyuan and Zhu Yuanyuan
The ‘why’
Due to the sensitivity of commercial bribery, corporations can be reluctant to instigate internal anti-commercial bribery investigations as a check on the effectiveness of their compliance program. Often an internal investigation will only be commenced when a serious problem emerges in the internal management system, a judicial or governmental investigation is initiated or a complaint is received accusing the corporation of serious compliance issues. However, given the increasing global focus on anti-bribery and corruption compliance, the value of regular internal compliance investigations or ‘audits’ has increased. The objective of a compliance audit is to identify and deal with any problems or risk areas before they are obvious to third parties and escalate to the media’s attention. Where the audit uncovers a serious problem that must be reported to regulators, the company will be in a much better position to pro-actively manage the situation – hopefully with the result of minimizing any penalties imposed on the company.
Over the medium to long term, regular compliance audits will strengthen the compliance and risk awareness of both the company and its employees and therefore contribute to an enterprise culture of compliance. Such a culture would in turn contribute to the long-term and sustainable development of the company.
Continue Reading Internal Compliance Audits – the Why and How?
