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In December 2021, the White House presented the “U.S. Strategyon Countering Corruption” to modernize anti-corruption efforts, strengthening multilateral cooperation to focus on its transnational nature. The comprehensive five-pillar approach aims to prevent, mitigate and respond to corruption and associated crimes, reducing perpetrators’ ability to use financial systems to hide and launder assets. The premise is that effectively preventing and countering corruption, as well as demonstrating the benefits of transparent and accountable governance, could secure a critical advantage for the U.S. U.S. companies with operations abroad must take note: Corruption-related sanctions have been toughened, and fines can reach billions of dollars.

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A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment today charging a former finance director of the Latin America division of Stericycle Inc., an international waste management company headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, for his role in an alleged scheme to pay over $10 million in bribes to foreign officials in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina.

According to court documents, between 2011 and 2016, Abraham Cigarroa Cervantes, 51, of Mexico, and others allegedly caused hundreds of bribe payments to be made to government officials in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina to obtain and retain business and to secure improper advantages for Stericycle, a U.S. securities issuer, in connection with providing waste management services. 

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You have to give the Justice Department credit — after two slow enforcement years, DOJ is starting off 2024 with a relative “bang;” first, DOJ reached a large settlement with SAP in January, and now, DOJ has reached a blockbuster settlement with Gunvor S.A. for $661 million. Gunvor is one of the world’s largest commodities trading companies. DOJ’s settlement represents a “return” to its long-standing aggressive approach to FCPA enforcement. DOJ did not permit Gunvor to enter into a deferred or non-prosecution agreement. Instead, DOJ required Gunvor to plead guilty to one count of FCPA conspiracy.  Gunvor entered into a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to an information charging the company with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA.

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The passage of the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act – the U.S. government’s latest tool to combat corrupt foreign officials – may shift prosecutors’ attention away from American companies that operate abroad in the short term but ramp up FCPA enforcement overall. FEPA, which President Biden signed into law on December 22, 2023, criminalizes the solicitation or acceptance of bribes from American companies or individuals, or by any person while in the United States. FEPA complements the FCPA, which targets only the “supply” side of bribery – those who offer or pay bribes to foreign officials. It accomplishes a key goal of the Biden Administration’s 2021 Strategy on Countering Corruption. FEPA also complements DOJ’s recent focus on national security crime. Because no bribe can take place without a giver (the U.S.-connected company or individual) and a receiver (the foreign official).

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Investors have long theorized that companies with poor corporate governance practices may be more prone to mismanagement and weak returns. To investigate further, we’ve looked inward to a key data source: our proxy votes.

Specifically, we draw a correlation example between governance and returns through AllianceBernstein’s (AB’s) proxy-voting track record in recent years. We think proxy voting is one of the most expressive tools investors can use to communicate a view on the quality of a firm’s governance, providing that it’s based on careful analysis and accountability, not a rubber stamp.

Specifically, leveraging proxy voting and direct engagement* with companies can help to improve them, ideally resulting in better long-term outcomes. Several studies, which include our own findings, have made this connection much more apparent.

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Corporate governance is dynamic. Boards and the businesses they oversee face new challenges and opportunities—and new demands from their stakeholders—each year. To help you and your companies stay ahead of the curve in 2024 and beyond, RRA annually brings together the best thinking from our leadership advisors and a diverse array of influential governance thought leaders. With thanks to those experts, we are pleased to share our ninth annual report on what to watch in 2024. Corporate governance and demands on corporate leaders vary significantly from country to country, but four topics stand out as most important to businesses and their boards across the globe in 2024:

1. Disruptive innovations: AI & other technologies rise to the forefront

2. Path to parity: Sustained global focus on diversity

3. More action – and less talk – on ESG initiatives

4. Governance standards migrate: Private looks to public

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It has been a long time coming, but amendments to strengthen Australia’s Combatting Foreign Bribery Bill were passed in the Senate on 29 February 2024, with the country’s legislation finally catching up with various international counterparts, such as the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and UK Bribery Act. The Bill’s passing indicates increased commitment by Australian authorities to address foreign bribery and coincides with what appears to be a greater focus on combatting corruption in the country, as evidenced by the creation of the National Anti-Corruption Commission in July 2023. Australian companies should act now to review their compliance programmes, specifically looking at how they address the risk of corruption and bribery. However, until Australia can boast a track record of successfully prosecuting multiple foreign bribery cases, scepticism over the extent of its commitment to tackling the issue will remain. 

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On March 7, at the annual American Bar Association (ABA) National Institute on White Collar Crime, US Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco announced a new whistleblower program that will provide financial rewards to individuals who notify the US Department of Justice (DOJ) of misconduct.

DAG Monaco explained that the new program is intended to fill a gap in the current “patchwork” of whistleblower reward programs. Programs administered by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) only cover civil misconduct within the agencies’ respective jurisdictions, and qui tam actions are limited to actions alleging fraud against the government. DAG Monaco noted that the DOJ will be particularly interested in tips about criminal abuses of the US financial system, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations by private companies, violations by foreign public officials of the recently enacted Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA), and domestic corruption. The DOJ will develop the pilot program in the next three months and it will officially begin later this year.

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Contact: Mr.Nikolai Triffet 

Email: nikolai@icib.org

Contact: Mr Nereo Guzman Mendoza

Email: nguzman@businesssolutionvalley.com

Tel: +52 811 181 3514

Control Quote

Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control, and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we lead our lives. Priority management is the answer to maximizing the time we have.

John C. Maxwell