Anti-Corruption West Africa

The Western African region (including Nigeria, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon) is characterised as much for its rampant corruption and bribery as it is for its abundance of natural oil and gas resources. This high perceived risk acts as a big deterrent in the way of foreign direct investment in the region and from those investment that are made, very little of it benefits the local general economy. The risks of investing and operating in this region are heightened by the implementation of the tough new UK Bribery Act and the continued aggressive enforcement of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (?FCPA?) particularly in West Africa.

As a recent example, in January 2012, as a result of US Department of Justice investigations under the FCPA, Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corp. agreed to pay US $54.6 million in criminal fines for its role in the Bonny Island scandal to win billions of dollars of contracts by bribing Nigerian government officials.

Adding to these international compliance pressures company?s must keep abreast of existing and pending regional anti-corruption and bribery legislative frameworks across West Africa. Although enforcement of these regimes remains an issue in many West African countries, Nigeria has demonstrated a willingness to cooperate with international authorities in prosecutions against the members of the TKSJ joint venture.

Foreign companies looking to do business or invest in West Africa and local companies listed on foreign stock exchanges or with ties to foreign companies must establish and maintain resilient anti-corruption compliance policies to avoid intrusive government investigations, significant fines and in some cases, jail terms. No industry will escape scrutiny in this region.

Having developed successful industry-leading Anti-Corruption events across the USA, Europe and in South Africa, brings together a leading faculty of experienced in-house and private practice lawyers, compliance executives and government officials from across the region and internationally, who will provide the latest strategies to facilitate compliance with West-African, US and UK anti-corruption laws and mitigate damages should a violation occur.

Key topics and debates include:

• Understanding the applicability of the FCPA and UK Bribery Act on West African business and where the laws conflict
• Latest developments in local anti-corruption laws across West Africa and key enforcement priorities of the US, UK and West African agencies
• The latest techniques for building and maintaining anti-corruption compliance policies used by leading multinational companies
• Navigating specific fraud, bribery and corruption risks when working within local content requirements across the region
• Conducting effective third party risk-based due diligence to control and minimise liability risks when operating in developing African nations with limited resources
• Establishing effective internal whistle-blowing and investigation procedures to help ensure the safety of investigators in high security risk areas
• Balancing compliance with regional and international anti-corruption laws with cultural traditions and expectations of gift giving, hospitality and entertainment

Use this opportunity to benchmark your practices with leading local and international organisations and pick up critical knowledge from the anti-corruption experts. This is an outstanding career, business networking and information sharing opportunity.

Book your place today.

4 easy ways to register:

1. Click here to register online
2. PHONE our registration hotline on +44 (0)20 7878 6888
3. FAX your details directly to +44 (0)20 7878 6885
4. EMAIL your details directly to registration@c5-online.com

We are currently in the process of developing the agenda and speaker faculty.

For more information please contact:

Speaking opportunities:
Kristina Brown
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7878 6890
k.brown@C5-Online.com

Sponsorship opportunities:
Jo Menzer
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7878 6978
j.menzer@C5-Online.com

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