Aaron Murphy Pens International Anticorruption Article for Daily Journal

Daily Journal has published Akin Gump litigation partner Aaron Murphy’s article “Anticorruption jurisdictions, trends to watch,” in which he discusses the “explosion of new and recently modified anticorruption statutes in countries all around the world.”

Among the topics covered, Murphy notes that, since the entry into force of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption treaty in 2005, “we are only just now arriving at a point in time where international corruption laws are widespread and overlapping such that any multinational is now subject to the anticorruption laws of many countries in virtually every jurisdiction where they conduct business.”

According to Murphy, among the “good news” on the contemporary anticorruption scene, there is widespread agreement on “many of the fundamental issues relating to international anticorruption legislation.” He also notes that 19 of the 20 largest economies have implemented laws that prohibit bribery of foreign public officials, and 16 of the top 20 economies will hold corporations criminally liable for corruption.

“Approximately 40 percent of the global economy occurs in countries that have formal regulatory or legislative frameworks that give credit for or mandate compliance programs,” Murphy writes. He adds that those countries have consistent views of the anticorruption compliance programs’ requirements, which include “clear policies and procedures; senior management and board oversight; commitment of adequate resources; training and communication of expectations to employees, business partners, and agents; monitoring; appropriate discipline; and remediation when violations are uncovered.”

Murphy also notes that there are several jurisdictions—Brazil, Canada, China, France and Mexico—to watch over the next few years, “either because of major new legislation, potential legislation, enforcement initiatives, or some combination of each.”