Corruption won’t stop: is your organisation protected?

In one case, an enforcement agent for a Malaysian government department pleaded guilty for receiving a bribe from a business owner. In another, a U.S. district attorney from Philadelphia was accused of taking cash in return for helping people with their legal cases. He was accused of 28 counts of bribery, and in the end was given a deal to plead guilty on one count. Both cases show how easy it is for organisations to fall victim to bribery and corruption.Businesses, non-profits, government organisations both face a risk to their financial well-being and reputation.

In Malaysia, the case centred around an employee of the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry. According to the article “Domestic Trade enforcement staff fined RM1,200 for bribery” published in the New Straits Times, Muhammad Mat Sa’ad, 36, was charged with taking bribes from a fuel storage owner in 2014. His case was prosecuted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

In the U.S., Philadelphia’s top law enforcement officer, District Attorney R. Seth Williams, pleaded guilty to bribery in a more sweeping case with some very troubling details. According to the New York Times article “Philadelphia District Attorney Pleads Guilty to Bribery and Resigns,” Williams allegedly accepted bribes from business people in return for offers of legal help with their cases or those of their friends. But he may have also defrauded his own mother.

The article states:

“Mr. Williams accepted gifts including a trip to the Dominican Republic and checks for thousands of dollars from people who wanted favours, prosecutors said. According to an indictment by the United States attorney’s office for New Jersey, he promised one of the business people that he would “look into” a case that had been brought against a friend of that person.

He also faced charges including wire fraud and extortion for his alleged personal use of political action committee funds and government vehicles. Among the most damaging charges against Mr. Williams was that he defrauded a nursing home and family friends of money that was designated for the care of his mother.”

He faces a up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

These types of troubling cases can likely be prevented with the right training, internal controls, and certification. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) issued the ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management System standard to help companies worldwide increase and measure their efforts against bribery and corruption.

CRI® Group is registered as a foremost ISO 37001:2016 Certification Body with the Dubai Accreditation Center (DAC) Government of Dubai, UAE, and has formally launched its ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management Systems certification program. ISO 37001:2016 certifies that your organisation has implemented reasonable and proportionate measures to prevent bribery. These measures involve top-level leadership, training, bribery risk assessment, due diligence adequacy, financial and commercial controls, reporting, audit and investigation.

Through CRI® Group’s 3PRM-Certified™, the ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management System Certification will help your company, organisation or department to reduce risk of bribery and corruption by establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving your management system. The certification empowers you with the ability to safeguard and maintain the integrity of your company by:

• Guaranteeing that all workers and agents are devoted to the latest anti-bribery practice.
• Regularly validating compliance to appropriate legislation like the FCPA and UK Bribery Act 2010.
• Jointly cooperating with stakeholders to observe and reduce the risks throughout your supply chain.
• Externally scrutinising your company, testing the effectiveness of your anti-bribery policies and processes.
• Creating “Compliance in Action.”

ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management System certification is offered under CRI® Group’s ABAC® Centre of Excellence, an independent certification body established for Anti-Bribery Management System training and certification, ISO 37301 Compliance Management Systems and Risk Management System certification. The program will be tailored to your organisation’s needs and requirements. For assistance in developing and implementing a fraud prevention strategy, contact ABAC® today or get a FREE QUOTE now!

Who is CRI® Group?

Based in London, CRI® Group works with companies across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific as a one-stop international Risk Management, Employee Background Screening, Business Intelligence, Due Diligence and other professional Investigative Research solutions provider. We have the largest proprietary network of background-screening analysts and investigators across the Middle East and Asia. Our global presence ensures that no matter how international your operations are we have the network needed to provide you with all you need, wherever you happen to be. CRI® Group also holds BS 102000:2013 and BS 7858:2012 Certifications, is an HRO certified provider and partner with Oracle.

In 2016, CRI® Group launched Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC®) Center of Excellence – an independent certification body established for ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management Systems, ISO 37301 Compliance Management Systems and ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management, providing training and certification. ABAC® operates through its global network of certified ethics and compliance professionals, qualified auditors and other certified professionals. As a result, CRI® Group’s global team of certified fraud examiners work as a discreet white-labelled supplier to some of the world’s largest organisations. Contact ABAC® for more on ISO Certification and training.