Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean underscore the importance of corporate liability in the fight against corruption and commit to explore the issue further to strengthen enforcement in the region

26/09/2019 - The second meeting of the Latin America & Caribbean Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Network (“LAC LEN”), took place on 3-4 September 2019 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Itamaraty) in Brasília, Brazil. The meeting was jointly organised by the Anti-Corruption Division of the OECD and Brazil’s Office of the Comptroller-General (CGU), Office of the Attorney-General (AGU) and Federal Prosecution Service (MPF). It was supported by the network of British Embassies in Central America and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

The LAC LEN, which was established in 2018 in Buenos Aires, aims to equip law enforcement authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean with the necessary tools, capacity and expertise to effectively investigate and prosecute complex corruption cases, including transnational ones. It also provides a vital platform for informal exchange of information to facilitate the provision of legal assistance among its members. The activities of the network aim to support the region’s efforts to strengthen democracy and the rule of law and to promote sustainable development in line with the Lima Commitment on Democratic Governance against Corruption adopted by the Summit of Americas in April 2018, and of the Action Plan for Integrity and Good Governance, endorsed by the High Level Meeting of the OECD LAC Regional Programme, in October 2018, in Lima, Peru.

This year, the meeting brought together more than 50 law enforcement officials from 14 countries. Representatives of the OECD and the Organization of American States (OAS) also participated.

As recent practice in the region shows, corporate entities frequently act as vehicles for transnational corruption. A growing number of Latin American and Caribbean countries have therefore enacted corporate liability laws, and several others are in the process of doing so, to ensure that companies can be held responsible in line with the standards of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption (IACAC).

Recognising the importance of corporate liability in the fight against corruption and of the need to raise awareness and build the capacity of prosecutors and law enforcement authorities to effectively investigate and prosecute corruption cases involving companies, the 2019 meeting focused on discussing challenges, exchanging good practices and conducting case-based peer-led training on issues related to:

• Various models of corporate liability in Latin America and the Caribbean and the characteristics of each;
• Challenges in investigating and prosecuting legal persons, including the links between the corrupt act by individuals and companies and corruption through intermediaries;
• Assessment of the effectiveness of corporate compliance programmes in preventing, detecting and resolving corruption cases; 
• Imposition and execution of sanctions against companies, including through the form of non-trial resolutions;
• Cooperation and coordination in multi-jurisdictional corruption cases involving companies.
  
  

The LAC LEN also decided to embark on a cross-country exercise on the topic with a view to taking stock and analysing further these issues to strengthen enforcement of corporate liability laws in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The LAC LEN meeting was followed by a two day training on “Combating Foreign Bribery and Corruption Training” (5-6 September 2019) organised by Brazil, in partnership with United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

For more information, contact: Daisy Pelham, Communications Officer, OECD Anti-Corruption Division. For more information about the OECD's anti-corruption work in Latin America and the Caribbean, please visit: www.oecd.org/corruption/oecd-latinamericaanti-corruptionprogramme.htm