London’s Southwark Crown Court recently approved only the second Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) since the introduction of DPAs in 2014. Herbert Smith Freehills’ London Corporate Crime and Investigations team negotiated the first DPA with the SFO, which was concluded in November 2015. The recent announcement of the UK’s second DPA indicates that DPAs are likely […]

The SFO is conducting a criminal investigation into the activities of Unaoil, its officers, its employees and its agents in connection with suspected offences of bribery, corruption and money laundering. We have been approached by a number of sources who may have information relevant to this investigation.  If you have any information please contact us […]

Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has widened its investigation into Rolls-Royce to examine allegations of suspected bribery in Nigeria, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Thursday. Rolls-Royce, the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines, said in 2013 the SFO had launched a formal investigation into concerns about possible bribery and corruption in China and Indonesia. […]

Nearly one in three citizens who tried to access basic public services in the Middle East and North Africa paid a bribe, a Transparency International report said today, showing that governments across the region have failed to hear their citizens’ voices against corruption. According to a public opinion survey by the international anti-corruption group of […]

A local banker admitted in San Diego federal court Thursday that he caused Citibank to fail to report suspicious transactions and fail to maintain an effective anti-money laundering compliance program. Raymundo Navarrette, 51, pleaded guilty to bank bribery and will be sentenced Nov. 13. In his plea agreement, Navarrette admitted that he used his position within […]

The Wolfsberg Group, an association of 13 global banks, has issued a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on risk assessments for money laundering, sanctions and bribery and corruption. The FAQs include: What is the purpose of a risk assessment? Whose responsibility is it to undertake a risk assessment? Should the scope of a money […]

PetroChina’s supplier Wison Engineering Services Co Ltd and its chairman Hua Bangsong have both been found guilty of paying bribes, the company said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing. A Chinese court has ordered Wison to pay a fine of 30 million yuan ($4.83 million) and sentenced the chairman to 36 months in jail […]

It’s bad enough that just getting things done in Russia, from beating a speeding ticket to running a business, often means paying a kickback. But now it’s worse: You’ve got to pay twice as much. Russia’s Interior Ministry told reporters in late July that the average bribe may have doubled from around 109,000 rubles last year to 208,000 today. In dollars, that increase is nowhere nearly […]