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The Morning Risk Report: Exporting Countries Fail to Fight Bribery, TI Says |
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Exporting countries aren't enforcing anti-bribery laws, Transparency International says. PHOTO: JASPER JUINEN/BLOOMBERG
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Good morning. Countries that account for more than half of global trade have little or no enforcement against foreign bribery, according to a report released Wednesday by anti-corruption group Transparency International.
Companies seeking to gain mining rights, construction contracts and defense deals continue to operate in these high-risk markets, the report found. The study analyzes anti-bribery enforcement in some of the largest economies, most of which are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
[Continued below...]
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Transparency Internaional said countries with slack enforcement include China, Hong Kong, India and Singapore, which aren’t signatories to the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention. The convention aims to create a level playing field for global trade and requires parties to criminalize bribery of foreign public officials.
Progress: There has been some progress, and now countries accounting for 27% of global exports have active law enforcement against companies that use bribery to secure business abroad. These include Germany, Israel, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S. That compares with 23% of trade three years ago, according to the report.
Regress: Enforcement performance of four countries deteriorated in the past three years, including Austria, Canada and Finland, which had moderate levels of enforcement when Transparency International last reviewed practices in 2015. The other country where the organization found a decline in enforcement is South Korea.
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| Exclusive From Risk & Compliance Journal |
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Ex-Serious Fraud Office Director Joins Law Firm |
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The former Serious Fraud Office Director, David Green, joins a law firm next month. PHOTO: CHRIS RATCLIFFE/BLOOMBERG
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The former head of the U.K. anti-bribery watchdog has joined private practice, with Sir David Green named Tuesday as a partner at Slaughter & May.
Mr. Green, who left the Serious Fraud Office in April after six years and is credited with beefing up the agency's anti-bribery enforcement record, will join the law firm on Oct. 22, as a senior consultant.
Slaughter and May said Mr. Green will not work on matters in which he was involved while at the SFO. He'll advise companies and individuals facing criminal and regulatory investigations in the U.K. and around the world.
The firm has advised clients such as Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC, which struck a bribery settlement with U.K., U.S. and Brazilian authorities in 2017, agreeing to pay $800 million to resolve the investigations.
--Samuel Rubenfeld
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A satellite image of Hurricane Florence in the Atlantic Ocean, taken Tuesday morning and provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. PHOTO: NOAA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Hurricane Florence Poses Major Threat to Southeast
Coast |
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The threat from Hurricane Florence looms over the Atlantic. Officials in the Carolinas and Virginia have prepared for a disaster that could knock out power for weeks. More than 1 million people were ordered to evacuate.
The Category 4 storm is forecast to begin lashing the coast with tropical-storm force winds Thursday and is likely to make landfall sometime Friday. The exact path and timing of the storm can change.
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Finra Wades Into Cryptocurrency Enforcement |
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SEC Takes First Action Against Hedge Fund Over Crypto
Investments |
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Regulators fined a hedge-fund manager and two men who ran a website selling cryptocurrencies in two cases that represent a new front in the government’s campaign to police digital assets.
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Judge Lets Cryptocurrency Fraud Case Go Forward, In Win for
SEC |
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Trump to Allow Sanctions on Foreigners Meddling in U.S.
Elections |
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President Trump is expected to sign an executive order as soon as Wednesday that would authorize sanctions against foreigners who attempt to interfere in American elections.
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Inside Verizon’s 5G Game Plan |
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Verizon Communications Inc.’s new chief executive, Hans Vestberg, discusses what 5G will mean for consumers and why Verizon remains focused on its network.
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Alibaba Teams Up With Russian Tech Giant |
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Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. will take a 10% stake in one of Russia’s biggest tech players, part of a deal creating what the Chinese e-commerce giant and its Russian partners say will be the biggest online-shopping platform in the country.
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Marathon Partners Pushes e.l.f. Beauty to Sell Itself or Cut Costs |
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Marathon Partners plans to urge the cosmetics seller to either start a process to sell itself or refocus on core operations and reduce costs, according to a draft of a letter to its CEO.
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Readers can subscribe to The Morning Risk Report here: http://on.wsj.com/MorningRiskReportSignup. Follow us on Twitter at @WSJRisk.
Follow the WSJ Risk & Compliance Team on Twitter: @WSJRisk, @srubenfeld and @LikelyMara.
Send comments to the Risk & Compliance editor, Jack Hagel, at jack.hagel@wsj.com.
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