The origin and legislative evolution of whistleblowing in the Italian legal system

This article considers the adoption of legislation to protect whistleblowing in Italy, following international recommendations and obligations. The articles considers the history of whistleblowing legislation in Italy, before detailing Legislative Decree No 24.

Released on Mar 20, 2024

When arbitration meets crime – Inaugural conference, São Paulo 2024

January 2024 saw the first When arbitration meets crime Conference, held in São Paulo, Brazil and co-presented by the IBA Arbitration Committee, the IBA Business Crime Committee, the IBA Criminal Law Committee, the IBA Asset Recovery Committee the IBA Litigation Committee and the IBA Latin America Regional Forum.

Released on Feb 27, 2024

IBA Criminal Law Section at the 2023 IBA Annual Conference, Paris

The IBA’s Annual Conference took place between 29 October and 3 November 2023 in Paris, France. As always, the Conference – the IBA’s largest event with some 10,000 participants from the legal profession – was a great opportunity to catch up with acquaintances and forge new links within the criminal law community and beyond.

Released on Feb 27, 2024

Early detection and reporting of frauds in India: widening the regulatory net

The past few decades have witnessed a widespread improvement in investor confidence and positive market sentiment, catapulting India’s image as a global investment hub. While the government’s policy initiatives, such as ‘Make in India’ liberalising Foreign Direct Investment in over 25 sectors, aim to catalyse ease of doing business, recent amendments to regulations, such as Indian Penal Code 1860, the Companies Act 2013, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 and the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, are enablers in preserving the economic reputation of the country by effectively tackling fraud, corruption, bribery and serious white-collar crimes.

Released on Sep 3, 2023

Whistleblowers as John Does: preserving their identity while conducting internal investigations

Coming forward with information that could get someone into trouble has never been easy. To remedy this, states have been increasing their efforts to encourage whistleblowers to report wrongdoings by ensuring their protection from retaliation,1 which, up until recently, has been scarcely regulated, particularly in the European Union.2 The need to enhance the protection of whistleblowers has been thrown into the spotlight as a result of a series of scandals (such as the Panama Papers,3 Cambridge Analytica and Danske Bank scandals) in which whistleblowers played a key role.

Released on Sep 20, 2021

Smart worker injury and employer’s criminal liability

A few weeks ago, for the first time ever, INAIL granted compensation for damages on behalf of an Italian smart worker, who was injured while she was working from her own home. In the specific case, the employee fell disastrously down the stairs of her own home during a phone call with her colleague. The accident was very severe and caused her several fractures.

Released on Sep 20, 2021

Game changer in the Ukrainian law enforcement system

For a long time, there were several inspection authorities in Ukraine for financial crimes investigations; namely, the Security Service of Ukraine, the tax police, and the national police. Lately, this finally has been changed by the adoption of the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine’ (hereinafter ‘the Law’) in March 2021.

Released on Sep 20, 2021

Corruption risks in the use of agents in public procurement in India

The complexity and technicalities inherent in public procurement in India create an opportunity for agents or middlemen, as there is scope for those familiar with the convoluted process to assist bidders in navigating the process. While there is no blanket ban on the use of agents, it is very easy to cross over the amorphous border between what is allowed and what is illegal, and the high financial stakes coupled with the multiple touchpoints with public officials exacerbate the risk of influence peddling and corruption.

Released on Sep 20, 2021

A French law perspective on blockchain technology

Blockchains could enable a world, without intermediaries such as lawyers, brokers and bankers, to store, share, protect, tamper and review business relationships. This breakthrough makes the blockchain a foundational technology, having the potential to create new grounds for the economic, legal, and social systems.3 In that respect, the blockchain technology could have major impacts on French Law in the near future.

Released on Sep 20, 2021

Ukraine v corruption: the last updates

By Kateryna Gupalo and Kateryna Shapran. The year 2019 saw a prodigious amount of legislation amendments in Ukraine, particularly relating to combating corruption. The changes have affected the Criminal and the Criminal Procedure Codes as well as other anti-corruption regulations. New anti-corruption bodies including the High Anti-Corruption Court and the State Bureau of Investigation have also come into operation. Ukraine therefore continues to develop and implement its anti-corruption reforms.

Smart cities: a cyber criminal’s dream?

This article considers the future interconnectivity of the Internet of Things devices and our likely evolution from smart devices to smart cities. It contrasts the many practical benefits for society with the enhanced opportunities smart cities will bring for cyber criminals, able to exploit their increased attack surface, and for nation states able to prosecute or micro-monitor anyone it should target. It considers whether the criminal law can keep pace with the evolving threat

Airbus, international cooperation and the rise of Deferred Prosecution Agreements

This article examines the huge settlement Airbus agreed with authorities in the UK, France and US in January 2020 regarding its use of bribery to gain contracts in a number of countries. It examines the size of the penalties imposed and how the multinational investigation progressed. The article also assesses the degree of international cooperation between the investigating agencies involved in this case, the introduction of deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) in an increasing number of countries

Transatlantic investigations: a toolkit

This article summarises the respective powers and roles of the chief investigation and enforcement authorities in the UK and US, and provides a quick reference toolkit for the jurisdictions on either side of the Atlantic.

Tax offences: the new field for corporate criminal liability in Italy

This article examines the inclusion of tax offences among the predicate offences capable of triggering corporate liability, a matter which has been the subject of a controversial debate in Italy over the past decade. It outlines the changes following the incorporation of the European Delegation Law of 2018 into Italian law