Last Thursday, 26 October, the region’s leading anti-fraud professionals gathered in Karachi, Pakistan, for CRI® and ABAC® Group’s Anti-Bribery Summit 2017. CRI® Group and sister brand ABAC® took the initiative to organise the first Anti-Bribery Summit in Pakistan with the goal to redefine the anti-bribery culture within organisations in the country.
The Anti-Bribery Summit couldn’t have come at a more critical time, or have been held in a more relevant location – Pakistan is on the front lines of a struggle between those who wilfully engage in bribery and corruption, and those who endeavour to put a stop to it. But the problem of corruption is worldwide, affecting government, military and public sector organisations.
“The international nature of business today means that many companies operating in Pakistan and nearby countries are doing business across foreign borders, and in such cases find themselves subject to laws and regulations that aim to limit corruption and bribery on a global scale,” said Zafar Anjum, Chief Group Executive, CRI® Group. “That is why our Anti-Bribery Summit 2017 included sessions on compliance for the most significant international laws and regulations.”
The Anti-Bribery Summit 2017 included sessions on compliance for the most significant international laws and regulations, including a Q&A session with an expert on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Attendees also learned about compliance pitfalls, and how to engage in proper third party due diligence to keep their organisations safe from unethical partners that could hurt the organisation’s reputation and bottom line.
“It was good to see international speakers from UN and OECDon the practices being used and available standards for comparing our policies and procedures,” said Riaz Nazarali Chunara, Director, State Bank Of Pakistan.
Experts share their message
The Anti-Bribery Summit brought together some of the greatest minds in the fight against corruption, with a lineup of expert speakers that shared their experiences, knowledge and best practices with an attentive audience.
Keynote speakers included Drago Kos, Chair of the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions and Co-Chair of the Defence Corruption Monitoring Committee in Ukraine and adviser to the Kosovo Anti-Corruption Agency (see an exclusive video interview with Drago Kos about the Summit); Jouhaida Hanano, Criminal Justice Advisor – Sub-Programme II, UNODC Pakistan; Shehzad Yousuf, Chief Internal Auditor at PTCL; Tariq Hussain, Former Director / HOD Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) – Supervision and Enforcement and Company Law Division; Ali Anwer Adil, Head of Internal Audit, Fraud Management and Revenue Assurance at Zong; and Ghulam Farooq, Director at The National Accountability Bureau.
“(It was) a wonderful conference on anti-bribery held by CRI,” said Muhammad Nauman Ahmed, Head of Compliance at PEL. Ahmed said the “most amazing part” was that “OECD Anti-Bribery chairman Mr. Drago Kos and Director NAB, Sindh attended the conference.”
“SECP representatives were also present,” Ahmed said, calling it a “great event” for learning about the most current practices to counter bribery in Pakistan.
Featuring keynote addresses, Q&A sessions, trainings and a panel discussion, the Anti-Bribery Summit addressed topics critical to any organisation leader or executive in the region including anti-bribery compliance issues, strategies, the FCPA and UK Bribery Act, the corporate culture in Pakistan, conducting proper risk management and due diligence.
“It was a really good event, very well organised and an excellent learning experience,” said Yousuf Ali, Executive Manager, Assurance, EY Ford Rhodes. “My team and I at Ernst & Young thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially the presentation from Mr Shehzad Yousuf.”
“We are looking forward to other such events,” Ali said.
CRI® Group and ABAC® Group thanks all of the attendees, speakers and everyone involved in making the Anti-Bribery 2017 an unmatched success!
