WG Anti-Bribery and Corruption
The Working Group “Anti-Bribery and Corruption” aims to bring together in-house compliance practitioners, in-house lawyers, white-collar crime lawyers, investigators, risk managers, auditors from different industries and members of the law enforcement community to exchange experiences, discuss best practices and challenges and understand new corruption laws and enforcement trends. We are hoping for an active participation in this working group and we welcome any speakers or ideas for future events.
The WG Anti Bribery was be launched at an open event on 14 December 2016 in Zurich.
Patrick Wellens and Claudia Götz Staehelin are co-chairing the WG which will serve as a platform for discussion and exchange among ECS members.
November 2023 – Corruption risks and challenges
On November 14, around 40 participants gathered at Bär & Karrer offices in Zurich for a live event moderated by Claudia Götz Staehelin and Patrick Wellens, co-chairs of ECS’s Anti-Bribery and Corruption Working Group. Distinguished panelists shared sector-specific insights on corruption risks, mitigation strategies, and challenges. The event highlighted innovative approaches to combatting corruption.This event served as the kickoff for a series of upcoming engagements by the Anti-Bribery and Corruption Working Group. Stay tuned for more insightful discussions and initiatives!
As panelists were invited:
Patrick Trepanier, Director Compliance FIFA
He is the current Director of Compliance at the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), as well as the Director to the Secretariat for the FIFA Independent Committees. He is also a Member of the FIFA Clearing House Supervisory Board. Prior to FIFA, he was Compliance Head for Alcon Pharmaceuticals, formerly a Novartis Division.
Barbara Lustenberger, Senior Director Compliance infront sports &media AG
Barbara joined the international full-service sports agency Infront Sports & Media AG as Director of Group Compliance beginning of 2013. She has built up Infront’s Compliance Management System from its first steps and continuously optimizes its processes, policies, training etc. The latest achievement resulted in the ISO 37301 certification of its Compliance Management system, Previously she worked for UEFA (European Football Association), in the Disciplinary Services. Barbara is a member of the foundation board of “Swiss Sport Integrity”, the national anti-doping agency and host of the national whistleblowing hotline for athletes and coaches in Switzerland.
Philipp Schinz, Head of Compliance Barry Callebaut AG
Philipp Schinz is Head of Compliance at Barry Callebaut AG and has been working in Corporate Compliance for over 15 years. He is responsible for compliance management and the group’s international case investigations. He also accompanies the procedural development to ensure supply chain compliance and the ESG strategy, taking into account national and international challenges.
Andreas Büscher, DVP, Ethics & Compliance Officer, Abbott
Andreas is the Ethics & Compliance Officer of Abbott’s branded generic medicines’ business, which is based in Switzerland and focused on bringing trusted medicines to broaden access to health in more than 95 emerging countries around the world. He is responsible for the division’s compliance program. Prior to joining the compliance function, Andreas has been working for over a decade in the legal function of different companies in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry.
October 2023 – The increase in China regulatory investigations in life sciences: why, how and where is it going?
On October 9 Kent Kedl, a partner of Control Risks, based in Shanghai with 35 years of experience in life science industry in China, explained to the participants that in the past the Chinese authorities targete pharma or medtech companies that were bribing healthcare /government officials. Now the focus of the investigations is on the demand side, i.e., the Healthcare Professionals and Healthcare Organizations. Kent explained what authorities are involved in the corruption investigation, why such investigations are taking place and also gave some practical tips what companies can do to overcome being asked for bribes by healthcare professionals in China.
The event was moderated by Patrick Wellens, co-chair of the WG life sciences and co-chair of WG anti-bribery and corruption.
WG meeting 5 July 2018
The Working Group confirmed its intention to work on producing practical guidance on self reporting of corruption issues by companies in Switzerland. Members started working on a methodology to build such a deliverable as well as gathering suggestions for themes, questions or issues to be addressed by the document. A first list of questions was circulated among the working group members, some of whom started to raise their hand to contribute to the drafting.
Next steps for the Working Group :
- Keep gathering input ideas and contribution submissions for the deliverable
- Organize 2 to 3 working group meetings during which the drafting of the document will be discussed (in addition to other topics suggested by participants).
- Invite a Swiss Federal Prosecutor to one of these meetings to get the official perspective on Self Reporting
The next meeting of the working group will be held in Q1 2019
WG meeting 15 March 2018
The Working Group decided to focus its work in 2018 on the creation of a document on self reporting of corruption issues by companies. The Working Group will organize several meetings in 2018 to work on the creation of this document (dates and venues to be finalized). Contributions from all ECS members to these meetings are welcome !
WG meeting 7 December 2017, Basel
The ECS WG on Anti-Bribery met on 7 December 2017 in Basel for a look-back review of legal and regulatory developments in 2017, featuring amongst others the developments in the Odebrecht Car Wash Scandal and the entering into force of the new French anti-corruption law (SAPIN II). The discussion of the group on the anti-corruption outlook for 2018 informed the proposal of topics for the upcoming meetings of the WG.
The Working Group on Anti-Bribery will hold quarterly meetings alternating between Basel and Zurich.
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