Tag: Tim Khasanov-Batirov

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Compliance Into the Weeds

Compliance into the Weeds: Compliance into the Weeds Takes a Eurotrip with Compliance Man

The award winning, Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. Looking for some hard-hitting insights on sanctions compliance? Look no further than Compliance into the Weeds!

In this episode, co-hosts Tom Fox and Matt Kelly are joined by Compliance Man himself Tim Khasanov-Batirov. We consider how the Airbus scandal has highlighted the importance of compliance and ethics in corporate conduct in France, and the need for reliable data in ESG reporting, artificial intelligence, and third party risk management. We also discuss the challenges faced by American and European compliance professionals, and the need for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in creating a strong speak up culture. They discussed the EU Whistleblower Directive, which states that anonymous reports should be allowed, and the importance of clean conduct in government agencies. Compliance practitioners have an important role to play in this process, and the EU is leading the world’s discussions around ESG reporting.

Key Highlights 

·      ESG Reporting Requirements

·      AI and DEI in Compliance

·      European Compliance Challenges

·      European Compliance vs US

·      AI and Compliance in France

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Compliance Man Chooses the Target

Compliance Risks in Russia

Welcome to Episode 5 of Compliance Man Chooses the Target with Tim Khasanov-Batirov.My goal is to highlight matters that should be on agenda of practitioners that deploy compliance programs in industries or countries of active FCPA enforcement. In each episode, I target three specific matters that you might like to address in the course of implementation of your compliance program. Today we will focus on compliance risks in Russia.
Target #1: Compliance Program.
Russia is number six in FCPA countdown of all times. In practice it means that, this jurisdiction should get your special attention in the course of deploying corporate compliance program. Your company could face risks in many business areas. What would be the best way to find out if you are on the safe side?  I suggest you to do assessment of the corporate compliance program in Russia based on the DOJ’s guidance called Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.  The most effective way to do this exercise would be engagement of the outside counsel. While this tip might look obvious, I want to specifically mention the test, which should be addressed in order to get a full picture:

  • The international team from counsel side should consist of both US lawyers who have practical experience in FCPA matter along with Russian attorneys who would be able to tailor the US recommendations in accordance with Russian legislation.

I elaborate on importance of this test when we discuss the Target #3.
Target #2: Risk Assessment & Risk Appetite.
The vital part of your efforts on global arena is FCPA risk assessment. There is no chance that any company would be able to spend millions of dollars spreading compliance resources on unnecessary or minor issues.
In the very same time on practice, I have seen that sometimes company were not clear on particular risks they were trying to mitigate. In plain language, they were just wasting compliance resources by doing something for the sake of doing something. To be effective on a high-risk market you should define priorities, the most risky areas that you would like to address. As a second step, the company should define the risk appetite, or so to say, the internal standard on risk acceptance, that company agrees to take.
Target #3: Legislation.
While deploying international antibribery standards in the branch of your organization in Moscow do not ignore local laws.  The reasons are the following:

  • Sometimes Russian anticorruption legislation might contain provisions that in some instances are more restrictive than FCPA (for example, local requirement in certain cases to notify the former employer of your newly hired ex-governmental official);
  • Certain FCPA principles might collude local laws (for example, due diligence of your business partner should be construed not to breach Russian antitrust legislation);
  • Some pieces of legislation should be reviewed carefully prior to deployment of the compliance instruments (for example, Russian data privacy laws should be analyzed prior to launch of whistleblower line).

Join us for the next episode of Compliance Man Chooses the Target with Tim Khasanov-Batirov. 
Learn more compliance tips from Tim Khasanov-Batirov at:
http://complianceinpostussr.com/&http://complianceinpostussr.com/blog/

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Compliance Man Chooses the Target

Episode 4: Industrial & Consumer Goods

Welcome to Episode 4 of Compliance Man Chooses the Target with Tim Khasanov-Batirov. My goal is to highlight matters that should be on agenda of practitioners that deploy compliance programs in industries or countries of active FCPA enforcement. I target three specific matters that you might like to address in the course of implementation of your compliance program. Today we will focus on Industrial & Consumer Goods industry.
arget #1: Politically Exposed Persons
The interpretation of the term politically exposed personis a tricky thing. For instance, you want to engage a law firm, which is owned by a sibling of a governmental official, let say, in Kazakhstan.  If you do business in the country where culturally strong family ties extends beyond immediate family members it could be a challenge to define whether a person among many siblings of a particular PEP de-factocould act as a shadow representative so to say of that PEP.  How to decrease compliance risks in this situation? The best way would be to the following:

  • To find out if your company really needs offered legal services;
  • To conduct fair market value estimation of fees to be paid;
  • Talk to business people and folks in the professional community (or even better to do detailed background check in addition to due diligence) to find out if your potential business partner enjoys preferential regime before local state bodies being sibling of the governmental official.

 Target #2: Construction of Plants
If your company decides to expand, its business by constructing a plant overseas we would recommend accessing the following three areas, which might encompass corruptions risks:

  • Approvals of design of your plant by respective foreign regulators;
  • Permissions on land allocation and construction permits to be obtained overseas;
  • Taxation, which might vary subject to interpretation of the vague tax rules regarding construction works by overseas tax authority.

Target #3: Local Team
Bribes are paid by people. Thus, the most important assurance you want to get is adherence to ethical culture by your team in the fields. How to access whether your FCPA/Ethics program really works even on distance of thousands miles from the HQ? You may want to do self evaluation of your FCPA program using guidance called Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programsby DOJ: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/page/file/937501/download I will give you some practical insights regarding this tip in the next episode of the show.
Join us for the next episode of Compliance Man Chooses the Target with Tim Khasanov-Batirov. 
Learn more compliance tips from Tim Khasanov-Batirov at:
http://complianceinpostussr.com/& http://complianceinpostussr.com/blog/