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Editors

Harry Cassin
Publisher and Editor

Andy Spalding
Senior Editor

Jessica Tillipman
Senior Editor

Bill Steinman
Senior Editor

Richard L. Cassin
Editor at Large

Elizabeth K. Spahn
Editor Emeritus

Cody Worthington
Contributing Editor

Julie DiMauro
Contributing Editor

Thomas Fox
Contributing Editor

Marc Alain Bohn
Contributing Editor

Bill Waite
Contributing Editor

Russell A. Stamets
Contributing Editor

Richard Bistrong
Contributing Editor

Eric Carlson
Contributing Editor

Posts Tagged: Agents

Is your ‘business rationale’ for intermediaries fact or fiction?

Compliance professionals have known for decades that intermediaries are involved in nearly all FCPA anti-bribery violations. The DOJ and SEC say plainly that FCPA enforcement actions “demonstrate that third parties, including agents, consultants, and distributors, are commonly used to conceal the payment of bribes to foreign officials in international business transactions.”… Continue Reading

Don’t expect agents to keep quiet about bribes they pay

In nearly all FCPA enforcement actions, agents, consultants, suppliers, distributors, and partners — whether real or faux — have a hand in bribery. They make approaches to foreign officials, set up offshore shell companies, generate fake invoices, and move money through accounts they own or control.… Continue Reading

John Bray: Agents use sunk-cost psychology to encourage bribery

Almost all major international bribery cases involve third parties, typically commercial agents who pass on part of their commissions to government officials as bribes. As demonstrated by Richard Bistrong’s recent post, the relationship between these agents and their international clients is often psychologically complex.… Continue Reading

Richard Bistrong: The dangerous charm of agents

What is it about agents, fixers, and intermediaries that makes them so attractive while potentially toxic to multinationals?

If you haven’t spent extended time with them, it’s hard to understand.

So here’s what I shared last week at the FCPA Blog NYC Conference.… Continue Reading

Richard Bistrong: In defense of, ahem, intermediaries

International success now depends on business leaders having “the foreign policy acumen to distinguish what they can and cannot do,” according to John Chipman, the director-general and chief executive of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.… Continue Reading