Conference programme

The recent six-month pause on the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ordered by the US administration has sparked significant debate and concern across various sectors. This panel aims to explore the multifaceted impacts of this pause on US companies, foreign companies, and the global fight against corruption. The panel will bring together practitioners and in-house counsel from different jurisdictions who will discuss the immediate and long-term consequences of this policy shift on their day to day activities and discuss strategies to navigate the evolving compliance landscape.
The panel objectives include 
(i)    discuss the potential risks and benefits for US businesses operating under reduced regulatory scrutiny;
(ii)    analyse how foreign companies, particularly those listed on US stock exchanges or using the US banking system, are affected by the FCPA pause;
(iii)    explore the response of foreign regulatory bodies and the potential for increased enforcement by non-US jurisdictions;
(iv)    investigate the broader implications for global anti-corruption initiatives and the role of international cooperation in maintaining enforcement standards;
(v)    discuss the potential for other countries to fill the enforcement void left by the US federal enforcement. 

This panel will explore in-house perspectives on challenges faced, including enforcement activity and agency guidance, the use of AI, organisational models, and other hot topics of the day.

This panel will explore international legal requirements from selected jurisdictions and offer best practices in implementing the always challenging, yet for many good reasons worthwhile implementation of corporate whistleblowing systems. The panellists are tackling these topics:
•    Is there a one-size-fits-all master solution on dealing with whistleblowing in different regions, countries or industries? 
•    Do we have to offer financial awards for whistleblowers?
•    What is the recommendable scope of a modern whistleblowing system: Preventing corruption only vs identifying all kinds of potential misconduct?  
•    How can we assure whistleblowing effectiveness over time?

Economic sanctions have evolved in recent years to serve ever-more-sophisticated policy objectives of the countries that impose them.  One of those new objectives is the deterrence and punishment of public officials and governments in the countries subject to sanctions.  This panel explores the use of sanctions for this purpose, the measures which authorities in countries most using sanctions for this purpose have adopted and whether they are effective, and – at this time in the fight against international corruption – what we can expect in months and years to come. 

Public procurement is consistently identified as a sector raising significant corruption risks around the world. Efforts to combat corruption in the public procurement sector have been sporadic, and have had mixed results. Panelists will discuss developments concerning corruption-related risks in public procurement contexts, different legal regimes, and trends in particularly jurisdictions, along with practical cases and approaches by companies. The panel will address the importance of compliance steps and prevention in avoiding higher corruption-related risks in public procurement matters, including in the context of recent geopolitical developments. 

This discussion, which encourages audience participation, will focus on the evolution from policy, procedural, and tick-the-box based compliance programs to culture and ethical decision making. 

This panel explores how AML prosecution is emerging as a powerful tool in global anti-corruption efforts. As authorities leverage on enhanced regulations and cutting-edge technologies, the tracing of illicit funds becomes central to the fight against corruption too. Experts will discuss the challenges and opportunities of real-time transaction monitoring, AI-driven analytics, evolving legal frameworks, including for cross-border asset recovery and international collaboration in the current global enforcement landscape. 

Have you ever wondered what factors judges consider when making suspension and debarment decisions? This interactive session brings the multilateral development bank sanctions process to life through an engaging moot court. Officers from the World Bank, IDB, EBRD, and AfDB will form the judicial panel, while IBA Anti-Corruption Committee members will advocate as the investigative office and respondent company representatives. The simulated case will tackle critical issues at the frontier of sanctions practice, including attribution of liability within complex corporate structures, balancing punitive measures with development imperatives, and evaluating the true effectiveness of corporate compliance programs. Audience members will have the opportunity to engage directly with the panel and provide their input into the decision-making process as they navigate the nuanced considerations that shape decisions that end in cross-debarment. This interactive approach provides international legal practitioners with insight into how sanctions systems operate in practice while illuminating the different approaches MDBs take when addressing prohibited practices in development finance. 

How to handle thorny issues when one entity cares more about corruption/culture, or discovers issues during the integration process.