GIR Q2 2020

2013 and 2018, the number of companies penalised by Russian authorities for bribery almost tripled. The uptick in local activity, a number of US-led investigations with links to Russia, as well as western sanctions on the country are some of the primary drivers behind increased demand for investigations and compliance work. But evidence gathering in Russia can be fraught with difficulty. In this issue we explain how Russia’s history and local culture may impact internal investigations and what other potential pitfalls to look out for. We also introduce the leading players in Russia’s burgeoning investigations market.

Elsewhere in the issue Airbus general counsel John Harrison describes the frantic days leading up to the company’s $3.9 billion bribery and export control settlement. Up until the coronavirus pandemic, the investigations by authorities in three countries had presented an unprecedented threat to the company.

This edition also features the latest instalment of GIR’s In-house Investigator Interview series. Sébastien Bergier, healthcare company F Hoffmann-La Roche’s director of internal investigations, oversees investigations into serious whistleblower complaints across the Roche Group, and explains the challenges working with external counsel in investigations and how to encourage internal reporting of compliance failures.

In this issue: 

• The Investigator’s Guide to Russia
  What it’s like investigating corporate wrongdoing in Russia
• The In-house Interview
  Roche’s investigations director on working with external counsel
• MDBs
  Enforcement changes at the multilateral development banks
• Interview: Airbus
  The aircraft maker’s GC on its landmark bribery settlement
• The latest moves
  New hires and promotions in the global investigations community
• The biggest cases
  A round-up of the lawyers working on the largest cases