Bribery and corruption, anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance advisory
Companies face increased threats to their businesses as regulators and prosecuting authorities step up their focus on legal and regulatory compliance.
The consequences for having inadequate controls can be severe and penalties range from multi-million pound fines for the company, to imprisonment for senior management.
With the consequent negative impact on brand and reputation, it is clear that businesses need to ensure that they have the right team to support them.
Our team of specialist partners and associates focuses on legal and regulatory compliance issues in the core linked areas of financial crime risk:
- anti-money laundering (AML)
- sanctions
- anti-bribery and anti-corruption (ABC)
Our Compliance Advisory team is led by partner, Zia Ullah. Zia was formerly the Group Head of Sanctions at Barclays, responsible for sanctions compliance globally, in addition to being head of policy for sanctions, AML and ABC.
Anti-money laundering
The UK AML regime is widely acknowledged as one of the strictest and most difficult to navigate for businesses. The complex law and regulation differs between the regulated and non-regulated sectors and businesses must carefully consider their obligations.
We have extensive experience in advising clients on the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and other AML laws and regulations, including, where appropriate, advising on the filing of suspicious activity reports (SAR) and disclosure obligations for Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLRO). We have also advised on transactional due diligence where AML issues have arisen.
With new AML compliance obligations for certain businesses we can assist in registration applications to the appropriate regulator including HMRC and the FSA, in addition to ensuring that senior management comply with any Fit and Proper Person requirements.
Our team are industry experts in AML and assist members of bodies such as the Law Society and the UKMTA in understanding their AML obligations.
Sanctions
Sanctions generally prohibit financial institutions and entities from entering into, or facilitating, transactions involving sanctioned regimes, designated entities or individuals in order to restrict their access to finance. Sanctions can attract both civil and criminal penalties. HM Treasury (HMT) is responsible for the UK sanctions regime. The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) administers US sanctions.
From deciding which sanctions apply, to the implementation of a screening programme; from the level of resource that is appropriate to your business, to the level of detail in a sanctions policy, the issues that arise from trying to design effective systems and controls to comply with sanctions are numerous and difficult to balance.
In an increasingly globalised market place, factoring single jurisdiction sanctions obligations will not be sufficient to ensure effective risk mitigation. In addition to jurisdictional issues, operational decisions on matters such as list management, transaction currency, customer/employee nationality, local employment laws and transaction routing will require assessment when considering sanctions risk.
With legal uncertainty due to the conflict between US and EU sanctions laws and the extra-territorial impact of sanctions legislation, one can begin to understand why most compliance professionals view sanctions as one of the most significant risk management issues facing businesses today.
Any business involved in international commerce will need to consider carefully their sanctions obligations, including financial and trade based sanctions and export controls. Our team has experience in giving practical advice from the inside of a business and has also helped draft industry guidance in this area so are uniquely placed to help clients appreciate the compliance challenges that face them and design effective solutions to overcome them.
Anti-bribery and anti-corruption
The Bribery Act 2010 comes into force on 1 July 2011. The UK will have one of the most comprehensive pieces of ABC legislation in the world and UK and foreign businesses and their senior management need to ensure they are ready to meet the undoubted challenges the Act will bring. In particular, the obligations on businesses to ensure they have ‘adequate procedures’ to combat bribery has resulted in the greatest ever focus on their controls in this area. From third party risk to facilitation payments, from corporate hospitality to charitable donations the touch points of bribery risk within businesses can be varied.
The Ministry of Justice published its 'adequate procedures guidance' on 30 March 2011 and it recommends firms adopt a risk based approach to bribery.
Our Compliance Advisory team has helped businesses of all sizes design and implement practical and effective controls to ensure compliance with the new law and to help mitigate bribery risk. From effective policy implementation to bespoke e-learning training solutions, our team can assist you with every stage of implementation of your ABC strategy. We have guided clients on updating their contractual provisions with respect to bribery and helped them undertake comprehensive risk assessments. We can also help firms devise a effective communication strategy in relation to bribery in addition to providing compressive training on the areas of greatest risk.
Our team can also assist with internal corruption investigations instigated by whistleblowers or regulatory authorities, as well as issues discerned through transactional due diligence.
For more information on the Act please see our Compliance Advisory publication - the Bribery Act 2010 click here.
To receive a demo of our e-learning module please contact Zia Ullah at zia.ullah@pannone.co.uk or on 0161 909 1591.
With our focus on the core financial crime risk areas we provide practical advice on any sanctions/AML/ABC compliance issue including:
Policies and procedures
- reviewing policies or drafting new policies to ensure evolving risks are identified and providing uniform approach across organisations
Investigations
- providing advice and support throughout any investigation brought about as a result of alleged non-compliance with regulatory/legal obligations
Risk assessments
- considering factors such as industry, customer type, product and jurisdictions to identify the areas of highest risk within your business and detailing mitigation strategies
Audits
- reviewing implementation of policies and procedures and conducting benchmarking exercises on control effectiveness
Process review
- considering the operational effectiveness of end-to-end compliance processes and providing advice on industry best practice and regulatory expectation
Training
- designing and delivering tailored training to ensure risk sensitive awareness of issues/best practice across the business
Legal advisory services
- providing advice on contentious regulatory proceedings, legislation, advising on reporting obligations, drafting licence applications or negotiating disclosures on behalf of clients
We have innovative solutions for your business such as iphone applications and also offer free guidance and updates through our blogs, LinkedIn and Twitter feeds.
To arrange a discussion with a compliance advisory solicitor click here or call us on 0800 840 4929.
