Corporate Anti-Corruption: Best Practices at FBK Webinar
FBK has held a webinar titled ‘Corporate Anti-Corruption: Common Violations, Liability of Legal Entities and Personnel. Best Practices.’
The first part of the event offered an extensive overview of national and international laws, as well as details of applicable anti-corruption practices, focusing on the requirements for private institutions and their employees at any management level – from top management to line specialists. The presented analysis of the elements of corruption will help distinguish acts of corruption from other offences and management mistakes.
The webinar speakers, Roman Kenigsberg, Head of the Internal Audit and Risk Management Services Department, and Alexander Sotov, Head of the Financial Investigation and Anti-Corruption Practice, offered the audience a list of key measures to prevent and combat corruption grouped into five internal control components (control environment, risk management, control procedures, information and communication, and monitoring). This list may be used as a basis for the development of an individual corporate profile for a set of measures depending on the organisational structure, corporate governance, and specifics of counterparty relationships. According to Roman Kenigsberg, a place to start is introducing a zero corruption policy within a company. As a rule, a company's commitment to business ethics and its strive for anti-corruption are demonstrated by the company’s head – in corporate culture this management leadership approach is generally referred to as ‘tone from the top’. Other basic steps include the need to develop local regulations (e.g. an anti-corruption policy), regulate processes, introduce liability for acts of corruption, prevent and resolve conflicts of interest, ensure contractor due diligence, negotiate contracts, transactions and payments, etc.
The webinar particularly focused on liability for acts of corruption in non-governmental organisations, starting from the legal entity members up to line employees. Alexander Sotov reviewed the existing types of legal liability (administrative, criminal, disciplinary and civil), as well as conditions and circumstances that may lead to certain sentences or penalties. The expert discussed in detail the recent ruling No. 41-UDP23-2-K4 dated 29 March 2023 of the Judicial Chamber on Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which recasts potential criminal proceedings against persons who do not have administrative and economic authority.