Do You Know What are the Measures to Implement to Prevent Fraud?

Measures to Fight Fraud: The Implementation

Measures to fight fraud. What are measures every organization must implement to prevent fraud? Reporting fraud is crucial for any organization to do as it aids in not only safeguarding your organization from the outside but also in protecting the economy. When the event of fraud happens on a large scale, it can set back a nation’s economy substantially. Consumers which consist of the public as well as any trade suppliers will not purchase goods or services if there is any possibility of them developing into victims – an issue that has plagued third-world countries in recent years but is not exclusive to just them.

Reporting fraud protects your organizations internal and external team, and organizational leaders must come to realize that they have a responsibility to look out for their personnel whilst also promoting a workplace that encourages the employees to look out for one another. It is therefore vital that all suspicious activity must be brought to light. When offenders are allowed to operate without restraint, the rate of fraudulent conduct tends to spread with many victims clueless to the notion that somebody is taking from them.

The question of mandating the reporting of fraud has always been of prevalence and the ACFE released a report in which it was found that “the main reasons given in support of mandatory fraud reporting included: the prevalence and damaging nature of fraud; the opportunity to gain a better overall understanding of fraud; the need to escalate tackling fraud as an item on the government’s agenda; the value in creating more and better intelligence for policing; and encouraging organisations to take more responsibility for managing fraud.”

Regardless of where you stand on the mandating of reporting fraud, it is important to know what you can do as an organisation to safeguard yourself from the ramifications. We leave you with food for thought on what preventive measures you should implement to avert fraud.

The Fraud Triangle Theory

Renowned criminologist Donald R Cressey developed a theory that implicated three aspects that trigger fraud, these include:

• Opportunity
• Rationalization
• Pressure

Trusted persons become trust violators when they conceive of themselves as having a financial problem that is non-shareable, are aware this problem can be secretly resolved by violation of the position of financial trust, and are able to apply to their own conduct in that situation verbalizations which enable them to adjust their conceptions of themselves as trusted persons with their conceptions of themselves as users of the entrusted funds or property (Donald R. Cressey, Other People’s Money (Montclair: Patterson Smith, 1973) p. 30

When offenders are allowed to commit fraud, they will do so promptly. An absence of core regulations or reporting structure/oversight increases the chances of fraud as the offenders are aware that they are unlikely to face any repercussions.

The offender then goes on to rationalize the repeated dishonesty, which, feasibly over a few years, rises slowly and becomes a prerogative as they feel entitled to the easily obtained profits they received from the deceptive act.

They may feel that the gains are easier to obtain rather than confronting the vast pressure, be it corporate reasons such as meeting organization targets or personal pressures, such as addiction or financial crises which is what prompts them to carry out their fraudulent conducts over a prolonged time. Consequently, it is incredibly important to implement preventative measures to safeguard your organization from fraud.

What preventative measures should I implement to fight fraud?

At CRI Group™, we offer a wide array of services catered to several industries to help implement anti-fraud procedures. Fraud can be found in many aspects of an organizational core and peripheral structure, so it is, therefore, important to tailor it to each element.

To detect employee fraud, for example, it is advised that you pursue the proficiency of a skilled employee fraud accountant as early as possible. Employee fraud accountant aids in inspecting an employee’s professional conduct. This can be done by obtaining and by reviewing your organization’s bank statements and financial documents and advising you whether an employee is committing fraud and to what extent; the report will also give you the evidence you need to take the necessary action against your employee and act as a preventive to others. However, this is vastly different from conducting a pre-employment screening check.

What are the makes of an ideal candidate? The experience, qualifications, and academic accreditation, right? But how do you verify everything that they have presented to you? Employee background checks and necessary screenings are crucial to avoid a bad hire that can impact HR, your business, or even your brand –the financing of sufficient screening can save you time, money, and despair.

Know Your Workforce

Employee Background Checks investigate a potential candidate’s character in and out of their professional lives. These checks as inclusive of a candidate’s qualifications (documents provided), work history (with a reference check), right to work in the country and even a quick social media presence scan. Conducting employee background checks can diminish the probability of hiring a candidate who could cause irreversible damage to your organization. Organizations can spend years and a substantial amount of money to brand their products and services; one bad hire is all it takes to cause a loss of capital and reputation to the extent that may cause an organization to break.

EmploySmart™ is CRI Group’s exclusive employee background checks service providing a comprehensive check of all the necessary data required for pre-employment. EmploySmart™ is a robust pre-employment background screening service certified for BS7858 and is used in a bid to avert inattentive hiring charges. CRI™ helps organizations create a safe work environment for all and our EmploySmart™ system can be customized into special screening packages to meet the requirements of each specific position within your organization. Why not check out our brochure?

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Why not contact one of our specialists for a free 30-minute consultation? Our experts range from different fields and industries hence allowing us to provide your organisation with a truly bespoke service. Prevent fraud in your workplace today – it all starts with you.

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Implement a Third-Party Risk Management Process

Apart from the internal aspects of fraud, it is equally as important to remember that fraud can happen with any external connections your organization may have including suppliers, consumers, investors and so on. It is vital to ensure that you are conducting third-party risk management to avoid such an instance. CRI Group’s private but professionally developed 3PRM™ facilities aid organizations in proactively abating risks from third-party associations, safeguarding your organization from legal responsibility, brand damage, and any other impairment to the organization. Regardless of where your organization is in terms of the stages of development, our 3PRM™ solution is the perfect solution for eradicating exterior risks associated with your progress. The 3PRM™ restructures the third-party risk management process through scalability and efficiencies – from third-party risk identification to assessment. 

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Fraud can be an incredibly formidable task and with more legislation looking to be implemented regarding reporting fraud, you must keep yourself aware of it. Overall, the process of preventing fraud can be an extensive one, but one whose benefits outweigh the onerous course. Protect your organization from liability, business interruption and brand damage by partnering with the CRI Group. Our 3PRM solution address various specific areas, including:

• Third-Party Integrity Due Diligence & Screening: ensures global compliance, provides adequate monitoring & protection against potential litigation;
• 3PRM Enhanced Background Checks: uncovers derogatory information within the public & private record resources through risk-based background checks, including investigative research into suppliers & individuals, ultimate-beneficial owners;
• ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management System: CRI Group’s independent and accredited Certification Body can examine your Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption procedures & issue an accredited Certification; and
• ISO 37301 Compliance Management System: CRI Group’s independent certification body helps companies worldwide to increase & measure their efforts against regulatory compliance risks.

If you still have any questions surrounding fraud prevention, why not contact CRI™? Our experts have years of experience and have been trained to provide your business with bespoke advice that fits your organizations’ needs.

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Don’t hesitate to prevent fraud in your workplace today.

About us…

Based in London, CRI Group™ works with companies across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific as a one-stop international Risk Management, Employee Background Screening, Business Intelligence, Due Diligence, Compliance Solutions and other professional Investigative Research solutions provider. We have the largest proprietary network of background screening analysts and investigators across the Middle East and Asia. Our global presence ensures that no matter how international your operations are, we have the network needed to provide you with all you need, wherever you happen to be. CRI Group™ also holds BS102000:2013 and BS7858:2019 Certifications is an HRO certified provider and partner with Oracle.

In 2016, CRI Group™ launched the Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC™) Center of Excellence – an independent certification body established for ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management Systems, ISO 37301 Compliance Management Systems and ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management, providing training and certification. ABAC™ operates through its global network of certified ethics and compliance professionals, qualified auditors and other certified professionals. As a result, CRI® Group’s global team of certified fraud examiners work as a discreet white-labelled supplier to some of the world’s largest organizations. Contact ABAC™ for more on ISO Certification and training.

LET’S TALK

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2021 Fraud Week: Prevention is Key

The 2021 Fraud Week: Prevention is Key!

Every year, for one week in November, organisations around the world embrace a movement aimed to minimise and prevent fraud and corruption. International Fraud Awareness Week (“Fraud Week,” for short) is November 14-20, 2021, and CRI® Group has been an enthusiastic Official Supporter since the very beginning of this important campaign.

According to the ACFE, the world’s largest anti-fraud association and founder of Fraud Week, organisations worldwide lose an estimated 5 per cent of their annual revenues to fraud. To make things worse: “A single instance of fraud can be devastating: the median loss per fraud case was $145,000, and more than a fifth of the cases involved losses of at least $1 million.”

But there is good news. For Fraud Week, the ACFE offers some basic steps any organisation can take immediately to lessen their vulnerability to fraud:

• Be Proactive. Adopt a code of ethics for management and employees. Evaluate your internal controls for effectiveness and identify areas of the business that are vulnerable to fraud. Find out more about what an Ethical code of conduct is and what should it cover?
• Establish Hiring Procedures. When hiring staff, conduct thorough background investigations. Check educational, credit and employment history (as permitted by law), as well as references. Check out the consequences of neglecting background screening
• Train Employees in Fraud Prevention. Do workers know the warning signs of fraud? Ensure that staff members know basic fraud prevention techniques, here are some Tips on Identifying and Preventing Employee Fraud
• Implement a Fraud Hotline. Fraud is still most likely to be detected by a tip. Providing an anonymous reporting system for your employees, contractors and clients will help uncover more fraud. Find out more on how to set up an Ethics & Compliance Hotline.
• Increase the Perception of Detection. Communicate regularly to staff about anti-fraud policies, ways to report suspicions of misconduct, and the potential consequences (including termination and prosecution) of fraudulent behaviour.

At CRI Group™, our experts are trained to help organisations implement the above measures. Our integrity due diligence and risk management services focus on preventing fraud before it happens, not after the fact, when it is often too late to recover stolen funds and assets.

In one case study, a multinational company engaged in the provision of equipment and supplies used by the medical industry contacted CRI Group™. The client wished to contract with a company and wanted to ensure that there were no regulatory or reputational problems associated with the potential partner, and thus wanted to know their track record, integrity and reputation.

During the course of this integrity due diligence, CRI Group™ local operatives focused on whether the company in question was a legitimate business, and sought to identify the key players running operations both in Egypt and Iraq for the company in question. However, questions arose: Research showed no physical locations; the office address was found to be a residential site with no indication of business operations. No commercial relationships in Iraq were evident.

Local operatives further investigated the company’s distribution capabilities in the country, especially to the north and south, as claimed in a questionnaire provided to the client. Yet no information was found from any source to corroborate the company’s claims. Additionally, discreet interviews with local individuals found that no one was aware of the company.

Scepticism was confirmed, CRI Group™ discovered that the company’s principal was previously charged with “criminal breach of trust” and there was still a trial proceeding with regional trial courts. Three other civil damages claims against the principal were discovered, with USD $1.2 million claimed in liabilities.

CRI Group™ helped the client avoid becoming entangled with a fraudulent business and an alleged criminal – protecting the client from making a bad business deal that could have resulted in severe economic loss and a potentially damaged reputation. 

Our due diligence services can help put any organisation on the right track to being better protected and positioned to prevent and detect fraud – not just during Fraud Awareness Week, but year-round. Contact CRI Group™ today.

Who is CRI Group™?

Based in London, CRI Group™ works with companies across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific as a one-stop international Risk Management, Employee Background Screening, Business Intelligence, Due Diligence and other professional Investigative Research solutions provider. We have the largest proprietary network of background-screening analysts and investigators across the Middle East and Asia. Our global presence ensures that no matter how international your operations are we have the network needed to provide you with all you need, wherever you happen to be. CRI Group™ also holds BS 102000:2013 and BS 7858:2012 Certifications, is an HRO certified provider and partner with Oracle.

In 2016, CRI Group™ launched the Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC™) Center of Excellence – an independent certification body established for ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management Systems, ISO 37301 Compliance Management Systems and ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management, providing training and certification. ABAC™ operates through its global network of certified ethics and compliance professionals, qualified auditors and other certified professionals. As a result, CRI Group’s global team of certified fraud examiners work as a discreet white-labelled supplier to some of the world’s largest organisations. Contact ABAC™ for more on ISO Certification and training.

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50th UAE National Day 2021

50th UAE National Day 2021

50th UAE National Day 2021. Today is the UAE’s National Day, which coincides with the country’s Golden Jubilee, marking 50 years since the founding of the Emirates, and we couldn’t be more excited to celebrate. This UAE National Day reflects the dreams, development and dynamism of the last 50 years for those who call this nation home. The UAE wasn’t always a prosperous, cosmopolitan country; the country had humble beginnings. The UAE’s rich history is rooted in trade. The Emirates’ location between Europe and the Far East attracted merchants from India and China and was prized by Europeans, particularly the Portuguese, Dutch and British.

Those working from Sunday to Thursday get four days off to celebrate National Day and Commemoration Day from Wednesday, December 1 to Saturday, December 4, giving both private and public sectors a much-needed four-day weekend. Read more about the public holiday here. Join us as we celebrate the remarkable journey of the UAE and now it’s time to experience the festivities together as we honour the Year of the 50th. across Dubai.

Who are Corporate Research and Investigations Limited (CRI Group™)?

Ever since 1990, Corporate Research and Investigations Limited (CRI Group™) has committed itself to safeguard organisations from fraud, bribery and corruption. Based in London, United Kingdom, CRI™ is an international organisation with specialists and resources situated in key, provincial marketplaces throughout the Asia Pacific, South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, North and South America and aim to shield organisations from detriment by determining the lawful compliance, financial feasibility, and integrity measures of external partners, suppliers and consumers pursuing to associate themselves with your brand. They are acknowledged as a prominent Compliance and Risk Management organisation accredited and interconnected in the objectives of the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) and Qatar Financial Center (QFC).

With a profession spanning over 30-years in the disciplines of fraud prevention, defensive integrity, security and compliance, CRI® Group’s CEO Mr Zafar Anjum is a highly revered authority in his line of work. As a dependable influence in the field of fraud deterrence and protections together with commercial clients, management organisations and trade units, Mr Anjum is renowned for producing secure and reliable networks throughout the dynamic, challenging worldwide markets. In conjunction with a remarkable educational experience coupled with his trade proficiency, Mr Zafar Anjum is continually the first accredited global investigator on the scene when multi-national EMEA corporations pursue to eliminate compliance or security breaches.

2016 found the organisation instituting the Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC™) Center of Excellence – an autonomous certification body that aims to assist organisations in abating core risks as well as peripheral ones through the delivery of a comprehensive group of Anti-Bribery, Compliance and Risk Management programs.

Why CRI™?

CRI Group’s extensive efforts and reliable record in this field of work heavily align with what The UAE Innovation awards stand for – the aim to assist organisations across various sectors in strengthening their vetting capabilities in a manner that demonstrates sustainability in and of the public interest at large while maintaining legalities and development within the internal corporate structure is one to advance innovation in the industry for certain. In a sector that is accelerating the congealment of innovative proficiencies across a countless sum of industries comprising of automotive, aviation, oil, gas & energy, IT & telecommunications, property and many more industries, the services that CRI Group™ have to offer paired with a constructive influence on the society adjacent to it, a significant increase in the development of innovative systems is certainly to be anticipated.

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Meet Samia El Kadiri; Gifted Consultant, Author & Trainer

CRI Group™ is delighted to welcome Samia El Kadiri as an Auditor at our sister brand the Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC™) Center of Excellence. Samia provides audit services and expertise on existing compliance and Anti-bribery Anti-corruption management systems to assess effectiveness and vulnerabilities while ensuring compliance with Internal Standards, FCPA rules, UK Bribery Act laws, Anti-Money Laundering regulations, and all other global, regional and local regulations. For this reason, we are also delighted to announce that Ms El Kadiri will be a guest speaker on our upcoming webinar with our sister brand ABAC® titled “Building a Culture of Compliance and Trust Through ISO 37301:2021 Compliance Management Systems”.

MORE ON THE WEBINAR HERE

Widespread trust is built on a company culture of doing the right thing, where every employee contributes because they understand and believe in its importance. Don’t miss out!

Meet Samia

Samia El Kadiri Consultant , Author & Trainer 6σGB |IRCA- QMS Lead Auditor | TOT Auditor | Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC®) Center of Excellence

She brings in over eight years of progressive experience working in private and government owned entities in compliance, management, quality assurance and excellence functions. Possess keen understanding, oversight and reporting mechanisms on Financial Crimes – Anti-Money Laundering, UAE Central Bank regulations, Dubai and UAE federal government mandates. She Developed and delivered various number of workshops and awareness sessions to leaders and decision makers on “Good Corporate Governance Practices”, “Development of Strategic Plan and Effective Policies” and “Financial Ethics” (AML&CFT according to local Guidelines). She authored reports and research papers on Compliance and the evolution of CG in the MENA region.

She participated in the ESG Index; MENA wide Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Index in cooperation with Standard & Poor’s with the support of the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

She is a Consultant at DIFC – Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance charged with leading entities consultancy and advisory engagements in identifying the relevant controls, processes and frameworks and recommend areas of improvements. She works closely with clients in assessment and development, advisory and succession planning across multiple industries (Dubai and Federal Government entities, Healthcare, Financial institutions including Banks, and Real Estate) and functional topics (Ethics, Strategic excellence, ESG, Clinical Governance, Regulatory Compliance, Audit & Risk , Policies & Procedures…etc.).

Prior to joining Hawkamah she was the Regulatory Compliance Officer and Chief Editor of Compliance newsletter at Wall Street Exchange, a member of Emirates Post Group where she developed systems, policies and procedures for compliance of relevant UAE laws. Prior to that she worked with the American Clinics for Psychiatry and Neurology where she focused on health care compliance of Dubai Healthcare Authority’s mandates. Prior to ACPN she worked at Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai where she focused on government excellence, quality management, and customer happiness.

She is Graduated with a BSC in Economics. She is a Certified Train the Trainer – Institute of Leadership and Management (UK), In addition to other accreditations related to Anti-Money Laundry (AML) and Counter Financing Crimes. She is fluent in English, Arabic and French.

WATCH SAMIA AT OUR UPCOMING WEBINAR

Samia is our guest speaker at our upcoming WEBINAR “Building a Culture of Compliance and Trust – an essential part of a corporate compliance program”. Our intention with this free webinar is to be able to provide resources on corporate compliance to organisations around the globe that will aid them in expansion and an ethical working environment. Widespread trust is built on the corporate culture and understanding of making the morally correct decision and we want to aid organisations to reach a degree to which every employee contributes towards this because they understand and believe in its importance. Our “Building a Culture of Compliance and Trust Through ISO 37301:2021 CMS” webinar will highlight all essential parts of a corporate compliance program.

SAVE YOUR SEAT NOW!

Our webinars, resources and other events are always designed with our clients in mind. Expect to be provided detailed insights and expert opinions to all of your questions and queries in regards to compliance adequate due diligence for third-party risk management, corporate compliance program and what it means for your organisation.

Check out some of Samia’s publications:

• “HOW SHOULD BOARD MEMBERS OVERSEE CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS” – Thought leadership piece published on April 2020 with a comprehensive review of GCC Corporate Governance regulations on crisis communication.
• “CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND DATA PROTECTION DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE GCC” – A study report in partnership with a leading Corporate Governance software provider company, it provides an overview of recent developments in corporate governance and data protection landscape in the MENA region.
• UAE Business Magazine, Article “The Benefits of Good Governance in Times of Crisis”
• “COMPLIANCE FUNCTION; Reporting lines and Effectiveness” – Survey report about the role of Compliance function in the MENA region- July 2021

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CRI Group™ Celebrates World Accreditation Day

World Accreditation Day: Contribute to Sustainable Development Goals with ISO Standards

International Standards published by ISO represent globally recognized guidelines and frameworks based on international collaboration. ISO standards “provide a solid base on which innovation can thrive and are essential tools to help governments, industry and consumers contribute to the achievement of every one of the SDGs”. For every SDG goal, ISO has identified the standards that make the most contribution. We are proud to announce that all ISO standard certification, implementation or training offered through ABAC™, contribute to at least 3 of the UN’s sustainable development goals.

On this year’s World Accreditation Day, visit our ABAC™ to read the full article and learn more about how your organisation can benefit from ISO standards today.

About us…

Based in London, CRI Group™ works with companies across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific as a one-stop international Risk Management, Employee Background Screening, Business Intelligence, Due Diligence, Compliance Solutions and other professional Investigative Research solutions provider. We have the largest proprietary network of background screening analysts and investigators across the Middle East and Asia. Our global presence ensures that no matter how international your operations are, we have the network needed to provide you with all you need, wherever you happen to be. CRI Group™ also holds BS102000:2013 and BS7858:2019 Certifications is an HRO certified provider and partner with Oracle.

In 2016, CRI Group™ launched the Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC™) Center of Excellence – an independent certification body established for ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management Systems, ISO 37301 Compliance Management Systems and ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management, providing training and certification. ABAC™ operates through its global network of certified ethics and compliance professionals, qualified auditors and other certified professionals. As a result, CRI Group’s global team of certified fraud examiners work as a discreet white-labelled supplier to some of the world’s largest organizations. Contact ABAC™ for more on ISO Certification and training.

MEET THE CEO

Zafar I. Anjum is Group Chief Executive Officer of CRI Group™ (www.crigroup.com), a global supplier of investigative, forensic accounting, business due to diligence and employee background screening services for some of the world’s leading business organisations. Headquartered in London (with a significant presence throughout the region) and licensed by the Dubai International Financial Centre-DIFC, the Qatar Financial Center – QFC, and the Abu Dhabi Global Market-ADGM, CRI Group™ safeguard businesses by establishing the legal compliance, financial viability, and integrity levels of outside partners, suppliers and customers seeking to affiliate with your business. CRI Group™ maintains offices in UAE, Pakistan, Qatar, Singapore, Malaysia, Brazil, China, the USA, and the United Kingdom.

Contact CRI Group™ to learn more about its 3PRM-Certified™ third-party risk management strategy program and discover an effective and proactive approach to mitigating the risks associated with corruption, bribery, financial crimes and other dangerous risks posed by third-party partnerships.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Zafar Anjum, MSc, MS, CFE, CII, MICA, Int. Dip. (Fin. Crime) | CRI Group™ Chief Executive Officer

37th Floor, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AA United Kingdom

t: +44 207 8681415 | m: +44 7588 454959 | e: zanjum@crigroup.com

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Mubadala Petroleum Achieved ISO 37001 ABMS Certification Through CRI Group™

Corporate Research and Investigations Limited (CRI Group™) announced that Mubadala Petroleum, a leading international oil and gas company, has successfully achieved ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management Systems certification.

The announcement was made by Zafar Anjum, CEO at Corporate Research and Investigations Limited. “We are honoured to certify Mubadala Petroleum for ISO 37001, as the ethical and transparent front-runner in the oil and gas industry.”

Mubadala Petroleum is a leading international, upstream oil and gas exploration and production company that manages assets and operations spanning ten countries globally, with a primary geographic focus on the Middle East and North Africa, Russia and Southeast Asia.

The ISO 37001 certification was achieved through ABAC™ Certification, a component of CRI Group’s Anti Bribery and Anti-Corruption (ABAC™) Center of Excellence, accredited by the Emirates International Accreditation Center (EIAC) for administering ISO 37001 ABMS certification.

ABAC’s Scheme Manager, Huma Khalid added: “Mubadala Petroleum was very motivated to achieve the globally recognised certification to prove their commitment to the highest integrity and accountability levels across the world. It is an honour to certify Mubadala Petroleum in the UAE in numerous business areas including but not limited to ABC ethics & compliance, ABC risk assessment and management, business management, investigations and reporting, due diligence and employment procedures. It is encouraging that exponential number of worldwide organisations start deciding to not only commit to their sustainable business commitments but also achieve certification to promote transparency inside and outside their organisations.”

ABOUT CRI GROUP™

Since 1990, CRI Group™ (Corporate Research and Investigations Limited) has safeguarded businesses from fraud and corruption, providing insurance fraud investigations, employee background screening, investigative due diligence, third-party risk management, compliance and other professional investigative research services.

CRI Group’s ABAC™ Center of Excellence provides certification and training solutions to local organisations in the field of Anti-Bribery Management Systems, Risk Management Systems, ISO 37301 Compliance Management Systems.

Stop Bribery and Corruption Today – With ISO 37001 Certification!

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The Story of Our CEO and Company

The Story of CRI Group™

By Zafar I. Anjum, Group CEO

THE BEGINNING: EVENT THAT CHANGED ME

Shortly after leaving the Pakistani Rangers in 1994 (five years after my graduation), I took over my father’s private investigation organisation – called, at the time, the Metropolitan Detective Agency. During this period, I was involved in investigating a case of suspected insurance fraud. The case involved a grandfather attempting to lay claim to his daughter’s life insurance settlement following her death under the pretext that he was responsible for the guardianship of her four orphaned children. After investigation, it was revealed that this was not the case and that the grandfather was attempting to defraud his late daughter’s insurance company.

Much like my feeling towards the case, the situation’s outcome could be characterised in two ways – one positive and one negative. I remember the overwhelming pride I felt in our success on the positive side. However, this was somewhat overshadowed by a sense of what is perhaps best articulated as injustice – I saw first-hand how fraud is damaging. And although fraud was having (and continues to have) a detrimental effect on the people, the lack of an effective solution to the problem meant that, frustratingly, such crimes were able to continue.

UNCOVERED MY FIRST FRAUD; WHAT’S NEXT?

Whilst I had managed to deal with one case of fraud and thus prevented the successful committing of a crime, this was just a single instance of fraud – I had done nothing to move towards an overall reduction of the problem. In other words, I concluded that I had managed to treat a mere symptom rather than the underlying illness.

DEDICATION TO INVESTIGATING FRAUD

Although the case itself was not particularly unusual, at least as far as fraud cases go, one particular aspect of the affair struck me – that, in contrast, most crimes are dealt with by the justice system, and fraud is peculiar. It often mandates investigation by an external agency or organisation that specialises in fraud detection. I noticed that such organisations were sorely lacking in Pakistan at the time – and that there was a distinct lack of counter fraud education in the general population, which aided those committing fraud greatly. Furthermore, even where individuals were aware that they were being defrauded, they lacked knowledge of effectively resolving disputes between themselves and the defrauder.

With this analysis in mind, I concluded that there needed to be significant growth in the counter-fraud industry within Pakistan. This is where the privatised nature of fraud investigation could make a significant positive impact. 

Although the police might not have had the resources to deal with fraud in its entirety, there was certainly an incentive for private companies to increase their spending in this area. In other words, there was a clear market opportunity for the expansion of the anti-fraud industry, and one that I knew how to fill with my experience and knowledge. Although I am market-minded as a matter of business necessity, it has become apparent to me over recent years that I am at my most motivated not when I am seeking organisational growth but when I am seeking professional development.

Corporate Research and Investigations Ltd (CRI Group’s First Logo)

FUTURE PLANS: CRI GROUP™ EXPANSION

With this conclusion in mind, I continued with the operation and expansion of Corporate Research and Investigations Limited “CRI® Group”. As well as expanding the CRI® Group, I began to take more and more of an interest in the professional aspects of fraud investigation. For this reason, in 1995, I became the first member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners from Pakistan, and in 1998 I was appointed the Area Governor for Pakistan and the Middle East by the World Association of Detectives.

The Area Governor appointment letter, issued to Zafar Anjum by
World Association of Detectives, 1998

If I were to summarise the one lesson that I learned due to my early experiences in Pakistan, it would be important to expand counter-fraud and counter-corruption to where it is needed. The ramifications of this lesson did not end when I left Pakistan either. My awareness of areas into which fraud prevention might be further expanded has continued. For this reason, I have taken a particular interest in the emerging area of corporate corruption and fraud.

CRITICAL REFLECTIONS ON MY PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Being a business owner, it is only natural that my personal development has been attached to the development of my organisation. As noted above, I have sought to have my organisation grow in line with my field – where there has been a need to combat corporate corruption and fraud, I have sought to conquer the resulting market. Similarly to how I have sought to expand my business, I have also found it necessary to seek out personal development opportunities whenever they become available. To this end, I have consistently been seeking out academic development since 2009. I have since completed an ICA International Diploma in Financial Crime Prevention, ICA International Diploma Governance, Risk and Compliance, ICA International Diploma in Anti-Money laundering, and MSc in Counter Fraud and Counter Corruption Studies. I completed another Master in Fraud and Financial Crime with Distinction and a Master of Laws (Legal Practice Intellectual Property). It is only natural that I am currently seeking to learn academically and contribute something to academia in the form of my PhD thesis.

In terms of personal development, I can therefore consider myself lucky to bring my career experience to doctorate-level study. Still, I will be able to take what I have learned at the doctorate level and apply it in a professional setting. Although I am market-minded as a matter of business necessity, it has become apparent to me over recent years that I am at my most motivated not when I am seeking organisational growth but when I am seeking professional development.

Hard work and dedication are two values ingrained into our core and are found in all facets of our operation. We believe that true value comes from fostering trust with our colleagues and clients at an equal level. We take great care in keeping integrity at the forefront of our Anti-Corruption, Compliance and Risk Management services. We wish to build long-term relationships in which we can be counted on to provide efficient and cost-effective services.

CRI Group’s very first international directory advertising in the UK during 1998

Looking Forward…

I believe it is important to constantly look for ways of improvement, especially in this rapidly changing industry. Each new technological development is an opportunity for us to advance our capabilities and competencies. Making use of the finest equipment and the most advanced technologies is one of the many ways that we set ourselves apart from the competition. I take great pleasure in implementing the most innovative ways to provide for our colleagues and team.

Our goal is to provide principled and reliable Anti-Corruption, Compliance and Risk Management Services for our clients. With the shifting marketplace, we pride ourselves on maintaining our core values as a constant. The message to our client is that your satisfaction is the main driving force behind our business. When you choose our services, you can expect a professional, high-quality experience every time.

Thank you all for your dedication, and congratulations on our 32nd anniversary!

With gratitude and wishing for more years to come for the CRI Group™ family,

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ESG: CRI Group™ Environmental Policy

Corporate Research and Investigations Limited “CRI Group™” is a certified member of GBB (Green Business Bureau), seeks excellence in every aspect of our business and is committed to minimising the environmental impacts of our business operations. After extensive new compliance requirements across the ESG (Environmental, social and governance) and working with Green Business Bureau, we are committed to strictly implementing the same commitments we agreed with GBB certification. 

The CRI Group™ and all directly employed sub-contractors, and agents, agree to comply with the below rules and will continue to ensure compliance. Here is our global Environmental Policy.

Our commitment is to:

• Continuously improve our environmental performance and integrate recognised environmental management best practices into CRI® Group operations.
• Reduce our consumption of resources and improve the efficient use of those resources.
• Measure and take action to reduce the carbon footprint of CRI Group™ activities to meet our published objectives and targets.
• Purchase qualified electronic equipment globally recognised as the most energy-efficient equipment available.
• Manage waste generated from our business operations incorporating reduction, re-use and recycling in accordance with the principles of the waste hierarchy
• Manage CRI® Group business operations to prevent pollution.
• Give due consideration to environmental issues and energy performance in the acquisition, design, refurbishment, location, and buildings use.
• Ensure environmental, including climate change, criteria are considered in the procurement of goods and services.
• Comply as a minimum with all relevant environmental legislation and other environmental requirements to which the firm subscribes.
• Maintain our certification to ISO 14001 program in 2022 implementation and rigorous.
• Monitoring and review.

To meet our commitments, we will:

• Provide CRI® Group’s Executive Board oversight and review of environmental policies and performance and allocate resources for effective direction and implementation.
• Monitor key objectives and targets for managing our environmental performance at least annually.
• Use a green web hosting service for our business websites with completely carbon neutral.
• Communicate internally and externally our environmental policy and performance regularly and encourage feedback.
• Communicate the importance of environmental issues to our people.
• Work together with our people, service partners, suppliers, landlords, and agents to promote improved environmental performance.
• Promote appropriate consideration of sustainability and environmental issues in the services we provide to our clients.
• Review our environmental policy regularly.

This environmental policy represents our general position on environmental issues and the policies and practices we will apply in conducting our business.

What is ESG?

ESG (Environmental, social and governance) criteria increase interest to companies, their investors and other stakeholders. With growing concern about the ethical status of quoted companies, these standards are the central factors that measure the ethical impact and sustainability of investment in a company. 

In less than 20 years, the ESG movement has grown from a corporate social responsibility initiative launched by the United Nations into a global phenomenon representing more than US$30 trillion in assets under management. According to Juliet Chung and Dave Michaels, “ESG Funds Draw SEC Scrutiny”, Wall Street Journal in the year 2019 alone, a surge of capital totaling US$17.67 billion flowed into ESG-linked products, an almost 525 per cent increase from 2015.

ESG factors cover a wide spectrum of issues that have traditionally been excluded from financial analysis:

Environmental:

• Climate change
• Resource depletion
• Waste and pollution
• Deforestation

Social:

• Working conditions, including the use of child labor
• Local communities
• Conflict
• Health and safety
• Employee relations and diversity

Governance:

• Executive pay
• Corruption
• Political affiliations and donations
• Board composition, diversity and structure
• Tax strategy

These factors have increasing financial relevance as global interest in ethical investment grows. 

Meeting the ESG Imperative

Increase your shareholder Engagement with Corporate Governance Solutions with our DueDiligence360™ service and our sister brand ABAC™ ISO certification.

Have confidence in your decisions when selecting your business partners, customers and workforce. Our due diligence reports provide research and insights from financial to legal and reputational standing.

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About CRI Group™

Corporate Research and Investigations Limited (CRI Group™) has been safeguarding businesses from fraud, bribery and corruption since 1990. Globally, we are a leading Compliance and Risk Management company licensed and incorporated entity of the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) and Qatar Financial Center (QFC). CRI™ protects businesses by establishing the legal compliance, financial viability, and integrity levels of outside partners, suppliers and customers seeking to affiliate with your business. Based in London, United Kingdom, CRI™ is a global company with experts and resources located in key regional marketplaces across the Asia Pacific, South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, North and South America. Our global team can support your organisation anywhere in the world.

In 2016, the company launched the Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC™) Center of Excellence – an independent certification body that helps organisations mitigate internal and external risks by providing a complete suite of Anti-Bribery, Compliance and Risk Management programs.

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CRI® Group celebrates International Anti-Corruption Day

Wednesday the 9th of December marks the International Anti-Corruption day since the passage of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption on 31st October 2003. Based on AntiCorruptionDay.org, as the world is recovering from COVID-19 pandemic, this year “the campaign for International Anti-Corruption Day will therefore focus on measures to reduce the risks of mismanagement and corruption without compromising the speed and flexibility demanded by the health crisis, while ensuring an inclusive recovery. This year’s motto “RECOVER with INTEGRITY” focuses on recovery through corruption mitigation and emphasizes that inclusive COVID-19 recovery can only be achieved with integrity.”

Bribery and corruption stories 2020

Even with much of the world under partial lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been no shortage of bribery and corruption cases. Each of these stories makes it clear that organisations must have proper controls in place to prevent bribery and corruption. ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management Systems standard provides a comprehensive approach to mitigating bribery and corruption risk. In no particular order, we collated some of the top bribery and corruption stories we’ve seen so far in 2020. Click here to read the full list. 

Airbus

In February, French-based Airbus agreed to pay a record $4 billion in fines for alleged bribery and corruption spanning at least 15 years. The company reached a plea bargain with prosecutors in Britain, France and the United States. According to prosecution documents, Airbus used a global network of agents or middlemen for corrupt transactions, included payouts disguised as commissions to push airplane sales.

“Fallout from the Airbus bribery scandal reverberated around the world on Monday as the head of one of its top buyers temporarily stood down and investigations were launched in countries aggrieved at being dragged into the increasingly political row.” (Reuters, 2020)

Novartis

While the investigation into suspected corruption at Novartis began seven years ago, it appears that 2020 is the year the company can finally close this damaging chapter in its history. The resolution comes at a steep cost. The Swiss-based pharmaceutical company will pay a staggering $1.3 billion in a settlement for kickbacks, bribery and price-fixing.

“The latest settlements cover two different cases. In the first, federal prosecutors claim Novartis used ‘tens of thousands of’ speaker programs and events — some entailing exorbitant meals — as disguise to provide bribes to doctors. The goal, according to prosecutors, was to encourage doctors to prescribe its drugs, including Lotrel, Valturna, Starlix, Tekturna, Tekamlo, Diovan and Exforge.” (Fierce Pharma, 2020)

Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder

While political corruption is nothing new, his constituents were nevertheless shocked when Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was arrested, along with four alleged co-conspirators, as part of a $60 million racketeering and bribery investigation. The alleged scheme is being described as one of the biggest public corruption cases in Ohio, U.S. history.

“All the charges are tied to what federal prosecutors said was a criminal enterprise dedicated to securing a bailout for two nuclear power plants in northern Ohio owned by FirstEnergy Solutions of Akron. The bailout is expected to cost the state’s utility ratepayers $1 billion.” (Cincinnati Enquirer, 2020)

Alexion Pharmaceuticals

Charged by the SEC with violating the FCPA by bribing officials in Turkey and Russia, Alexion Pharmaceuticals will pay $21.4 million to resolve an investigation that began in 2015. The Connecticut, U.S.- based company was also accused of failing to keep accurate financial records at subsidiaries in Brazil and Colombia.

“In Turkey and Russia, Alexion paid government officials and doctors at state-connected hospitals to promote use of its blood-disease drug, Soliris. Alexion retained a consultant in Turkey from 2010 to 2015 with ties to health officials. Alexion Turkey paid the consultant over $1.3 million for ‘consulting fees and purported expense reimbursements,’ the SEC said. … In Russia, Alexion paid doctors at government hospitals over $1 million from 2011 to 2015 to increase Soliris prescriptions. … The bribery resulted in Alexion being ‘unjustly enriched’ by about $6.6 million in Turkey and $7.5 million in Russia, the SEC said.” (FCPA Blog, 2020)

> Read the full list of bribery and corruption cases in 2020

Prosecution of corruption is like a dose of painkillers. It can help with the symptoms, but it won’t solve the problem. On the other hand, the anti-bribery management system is comparable to a healthy diet. No one is excited about it but some of us are more determined to choose an apple instead of cake. International Anti-Corruption Day is the best time for organisations of all sizes and industries take steps now to ensure that they don’t end up on a future list of top bribery and corruption scandals. Earlier this year, we published a series of articles how ISO 37001 standard could be implemented into the different industries – the first part of the article focused on automotive, aviation, insurance industries, while the second edition examined how pharma and healthcare, property, IT and telecommunications, food and beverage industries might benefit from ISO 37001 certification too.

CRI Group’s continuous fight against bribery and corruption risks

At CRI Group we understand, that corruption and bribery affect any organisation, large or small, public or not-for-profit. It has the potential to cause severe harm to your business, including financial loss, dire legal consequences, damage to your brand, company’s reputation and sustainable development. Therefore anti-bribery needs to be managed correctly and effectively. ISO developed ISO 37001:2016 ABMS standard helps organisations promote an ethical business culture. “Designed to help your organisation implement an anti-bribery management system (ABMS), and/or enhance the controls you currently have. It helps to reduce the risk of bribery [and corruption] occurring and can demonstrate to your stakeholders that you have put in place internationally recognised good-practice anti-bribery [and anti-corruption] controls”.

The first step of demonstrating your organisation’s commitment to implementing an effective anti-bribery management system solutions is to commit to ISO 37001 solutions. In order to offer you ISO 37001 training and/or certification, CRI Group launched an Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC®) Center of Excellence. ABAC® offers a complete suite of services and solutions designed to educate, equip & support the world’s leading business organisations with the latest best-in-practice risk & performance assessments, systems improvement & standards certification. ABAC® programs protect your organisation from damaging litigation & safeguard your business in the global marketplace by providing certification & training not only in ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management Systems but also in other internationally recognised ISO standards such as ISO 37301 Compliance Management Systemss and ISO 31000 Risk Management Systems implementation.

ABAC® offers ISO 37001 Introductory, Internal Auditor and Lead Auditor training to upskill the teams and organisations who want to show a proactive way of demonstrating your organisation’s commitment to ethical sustainability. Your employees will be able to recognise any form of corruption, and report it. Our trainers are the best in the business. They’re passionate about sharing their knowledge with you and/or your employees. ABAC® trusted experts have years of hands-on and business experience – they bring the subject matter to life with relevant and contemporary examples.

Companies should take a zero-tolerance attitude towards corruption and put policies in place covering issues such as gifts, supply chains and whistle-blowers, in order to promote a fair and just environment. In business terms, integrity pays: the world’s most ethical companies prove a clear correlation between ethical business practices and improved financial performance.

Recently, ABAC® also launched ISO 31000 Risk management e-training – even though this course is for risk management in general, ISO 31000 implementation and training give businesses a broader view of all risks associated with their organisations and how to overcome them. ISO 31000 training is focused on improving your and/or your team’s skills in implementing ISO 31000 Risk Management which will help organisations see both the positive opportunities and negative consequences associated with all types of risk, and allow for more informed, and thus more effective, decision making, namely in the allocation of resources.

> Learn more about ISO 31000 training

Expand Your Third-Party Risk Management Strategies

CRI Group is launching a third-party compliance verification and certification program – 3PRM-Certified™ – across the Middle East, Europe and the Asian region. This Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) program can help organisations establish the legal compliance, financial viability, and integrity levels of outside partners, suppliers and customers seeking to affiliate with their business.

Third-party relationships are critical in business today and include partnerships with suppliers, distributors, consultants, agents and other contractors. While such affiliations are essential to the success of your organisation, the consequences of inadequate due diligence cannot be overestimated. The risk of data breaches and supply chain disruptions continue to rise with COVID-19, so does the need for an effective TPRM program. Whether you’re a TPRM professional looking for a certification to advance your skillset, or the leader of your organisation considering how to better equip your team with the best knowledge and skills, the 3PRM-Certified™ program is an all-in solution.

Support International Anti-Corruption Day – consider ISO 37001, ISO 31000 and ISO 19600 as invaluable tools of your Third-Party Risk Management Strategy. Combined with due diligence, background screening, business intelligence and compliance solutions, ISO standard certifications and training can lift your overall risk management process and help your business mitigate risks from third-party affiliations, protecting your organisation from liability, brand damage and harm to the business.

> Read more about the 3PRM-Certified™ program

Supporting International Anti-Corruption Day 2020

Find below CRI Group’s resources helping you to know more about bribery and corruption risk. It does not wait and can happen anytime – we encourage you to think about anti-bribery and anti-corruption not only on International Anti-Corruption Day 2020 but all year round. Explore our other resources, or sign up for risk management, compliance, anti-bribery and anti-corruption related news, solutions, events and publications in your inbox. We will be happy to hear from you if you have any questions at all – contact us today or get a quote for any anti-bribery, anti-corruption, risk or compliance management solutions through our ABAC® Center of Excellence. Explore our recourses and expert insights in the Q&A sessions now:

Q&A: Corporate Fraud and Corruption in Pakistan

Q&A: Corporate Fraud and Corruption in the UK is growing, FAST!

Q&A session with our CEO: the United Arab Emirates fighting Fraud and corruption

Prove that your business is ethical
ABAC® published the free Highest Ethical Business Assessment (HEBA) to evaluate businesses’ current Corporate Compliance Programs. Find out if your organisation’s compliance program is in the line with worldwide Compliance, Business Ethics, Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Frameworks. Let ABAC® experts prepare a complimentary gap analysis – the HEBA survey is designed to evaluate your compliance with adequate procedures to prevent bribery and corruption across the organisation. This survey is monitored and evaluated by qualified ABAC® professionals with Business Ethics, Legal and Compliance background. The questions are open-ended to encourage a qualitative analysis of your Compliance Program and to facilitate the gap analysis process.

TAKE THE SURVEY HERE!

Who is CRI Group?

Based in London, CRI Group works with companies across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific as a one-stop international Risk Management, Employee Background Screening, Business Intelligence, Due Diligence, Compliance Solutions and other professional Investigative Research solutions provider. We have the largest proprietary network of background-screening analysts and investigators across the Middle East and Asia. Our global presence ensures that no matter how international your operations are we have the network needed to provide you with all you need, wherever you happen to be. CRI Group also holds BS 102000:2013 and BS 7858:2012 Certifications, is an HRO certified provider and partner with Oracle.

In 2016, CRI Group launched Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC®) Center of Excellence – an independent certification body established for ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management Systems, ISO 37301 Compliance Management Systems and ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management, providing training and certification. ABAC® operates through its global network of certified ethics and compliance professionals, qualified auditors and other certified professionals. As a result, CRI Group’s global team of certified fraud examiners work as a discreet white-labelled supplier to some of the world’s largest organisations. Contact ABAC® for more on ISO Certification and training.

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CRI Group™ Celebrate 2021 International Fraud Awareness Week

CRI Group™ is once again a proud supporter of 2021’s International Fraud Awareness Week. Taking place throughout the week of November 14th to November 20th of 2021, International Fraud Awareness Week is a global effort is a move to diminish the influence of fraud by advocating for anti-fraud awareness and education. According to the 2021 ACFE Report to the Nations, organisation’s continue to lose about 5% of revenue to fraud each year and currently, there are more than 3.3 billion people in the global workforce with nearly all of them having access to or control over some portion of their employer’s cash or assets – an amount which contributes to such a loss.

Corresponding to the most recent ACFE report, other fraud trends which have remained constant throughout the last few years include:

• Asset misappropriation is the most identified scheme
• Tips are the greatest process of exposure
• The lengthier that fraud goes unbridled, the greater the median loss

Zafar Anjum, founder, and CEO of CRI Group™ said that International Fraud Awareness Week (called Fraud Week, for short) is a crucial endeavour drawing attention to fraud and aiding to support better education towards communities about the liabilities that accompany fraud. “CRI Group™ has been a proud supporter of Fraud Week for past years”, Anjum said. “It’s an important time to urge organisations of all shapes and sizes to conduct proper due diligence and minimise risk. Only by addressing fraud and corruption proactively can we make progress in preventing and detecting it”.

For CRI Group™, though, assisting organisations with the deterrence and detection of fraud is a year-round responsibility which is why Fraud Week is a wonderful occasion to acknowledge CRI® Group’s contemporary exertions in the bout alongside fraud; it is also a wonderful time to look ahead on CRI Group’s activities which are all nearing their time of action.

Here are just a few of the highlights:

Active Participants 

CRI Group™ participated in conferences as a means of educating professionals on fraud and corruption; such as the PBSA 2021 Annual Conference. Furthermore, our experts discussed ISO 37001 and other anti-bribery management solutions with a range of industry professionals across the world by inviting them as speakers to our webinars and actively collaborating with them through other means. “CRI Group™ is comprised of subject-specific experts with diversified speciality areas,” Anjum said. “Our audit team has years of substantive field experience as investigators, compliance officers and legal professionals.”

Continue educating the masses

With ABAC™ in place, we found that corporate leaders were eager to learn more about preventing bribery and fighting corruption however, one other obstacle remained in our way; the pandemic. 2021 saw CRI alongside ABAC™ continue their efforts to share best practices, demonstrate resources and discuss the latest technology for preventing corruption despite the global pandemic which admittedly, probably has changed the way the corporate world works forever. Our webinars are designed with every passing moment in mind so that solutions and advice can be entirely bespoke to the client at hand. Our webinars to date include:

• Protecting Your Company from the Global Corruption Pandemic

We kicked off the year with a webinar built to explore and identify a combination of institutional solutions for managing and monitoring corporate compliance to prevent bribery and corruption in a modern enterprise. The aim of this webinar was to identify how to protect your organisation from global corruption and to critically assess the applicability of several recent legislative guidelines to the proactive mitigation of corruption and bribery in corporate administration across the world. Based on Airbus and Rolls-Royce cases of multinational, multi-party bribery, the webinar dived into the consequences of systemic inadequacy, confirming a paradigm shift in corporate oversight and network risk management.

• Bribery discovered: what to do in the next 48 hours? with Robert Youill, Executive Director at Key Risk Consulting Asia

We explored what course of action to take in the first 48 hours after discovering bribery as well as how to prepare for such crisis management and finally, how to manage the risks more effectively and minimise the chances of such a situation happening at all. Key speakers consisted of CRI Group’s/ABAC’s own Zafar Anjum, and Robert Youill, Executive Director at Key Risk Consulting Asia. Both talked about the steps you have to take in the next 48 hours after bribery is discovered concerning your organisation and how to identify the gaps in your existing anti-bribery anti-corruption management system.

• Pitfalls Most Organisations Often Commit – the importance of implementing Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMS) with DATO’SRI AKHBAR SATAR, Managing Director at Akhbar Corporate Integrity Services

Here at CRI™, we like to say why be a part of the problem when you can be a part of the solution? This webinar covered information regarding bribery, including consequences of bribery and defences to bribery as well as an overview of the regulatory framework, specifically the New Corporate Liability provision under Section 17A of the Malaysian Anticorruption Commission Act 2009 and a comparative study of Section 7 of the UK Bribery Act 2010. This webinar is great for organisations who wish to widen their knowledge and expertise regarding the ISO 37001 Anti-bribery Management System standard.

• What does it mean to be a whistleblower? with MACC Senior Assistant Commissioner & Head Private Sector Branch Community Education Division (Tuan Haji Mohd Nur Lokman Samingan) and President – Association of ABMS Practitioners Malaysia, Dr KM Loi

Whistleblowing does not only refer to the act of a whistleblower who informs, reports or discloses on someone or the organisation is conducting or going to conduct any illicit activity which may harm the interests of stakeholders. Meanwhile, it has also emerged in its mainstream functions and the essential roles in leading today‘s modern corporations to enforce effective whistleblowing policy within their compounds of governance. The goal was to provide resources and access to organisations around the globe on standards and certifications that will aid them in expansion and an ethical working environment.

• Compliance & Adequate Due Diligence for Third-Party Risk Management with SAMIA EL KADIRI, IRCA Lead Auditor, Governance & Compliance Consultant, in collaboration with DQG

Widespread trust is built on a company culture of doing the right thing, where every employee contributes because they understand and believe in its importance. Our “Building a Culture of Compliance and Trust Through ISO 37301:2021 CMS” webinar in collaboration with Dubai Quality Group and our sister brand the Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC™) Center of Excellence highlighted all essential parts of a corporate compliance program. The aim of this webinar was to be able to provide resources on corporate compliance and due diligence to organisations around the globe that will aid them in expansion and an ethical working environment.

All of our webinars are designed with our audience and beyond in mind and we aim to educate and equip corporate leaders of all industries and sizes with the resources we have available to us.

Raised Fraud Awareness

Our content is created to inform and provide important information that might be missed in today’s news cycles – that being said, CRI Group™ has produced more than 50 educational news articles and publications to help educate business leaders, government leaders, professionals and the public about fraud and corruption. Our subject matter experts deliver important information, such as why forensic accounting can be important during a fraud investigation, or how risk assessments can be used to better protect your organisation.

The methods for committing fraud are ever-evolving, so it’s no question that our experts remain dedicated to building their skill sets and staying on the cutting edge in a bid to help clients be successful in detecting and deterring fraud in and out of their immediate workspace. To do so we have launched a few new educational articles:

• Due diligence and tips to avoid fraud
• 8 Steps to prevent fraud
• Reporting Fraud: Do you know what measures to implement?
• 2021 Fraud Week: Prevention is Key
• Why International Fraud Awareness Week is a great time to reflect
• Reporting Fraud: Do you know what measures to implement?

Collaborating with Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption Centre of Excellence (ABAC™)

At CRI Group™, we recognised the need for an independent certification body for ISO 37001: Anti-Bribery Management System which is why we founded the ABAC™ Center of Excellence back in 2016. Our goal was and still is to assist organisations worldwide in certification for anti-corruption, risk management and compliance; we do this largely by providing training and certification for ISO 37001. Our experts help organisations implement effective anti-bribery management programs using widely accepted controls, systems and best practices in line with local and international legislation. 2021 allowed CRI Group™ various opportunities to work hand in hand with our sister brand to materialise our missions at both brands and make them into a reality that benefited so many corporate leaders and personnel across the globe.

CRI Group™ is proud to announce that we will be hosting a free webinar on December 9th 2021 in conjunction with our sister brand Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC™) Center of Excellence Group. Our intention is to be able to provide resources on corporate compliance to organisations around the globe that will aid them in expansion and an ethical working environment. In recent years, third-party risk management has become a primary concern for organisations, amid increased outsourcing against a backdrop of rising costs, digitisation and low-interest rates, which have put downward pressure on margins. While there are many benefits driving outsourcing, e.g., increased efficiency and scale, it naturally also increases the level of risk and complexity of third-party relationships. Coupled with increased lengths of agreements, on average five to seven years, the need for ongoing performance management becomes that much greater.

Take advantage of this free webinar on third-party due diligence and oversight. Register below and save your seat today!

SAVE YOUR SEAT (Expired Now)

Accrediting global corporations with ISO 37001

CRI Group’s sister brand ABAC™ Center of Excellence was also incredibly honoured to earn official accreditation from Emirates International Accreditation Center – EIAC (UAE) to administer training and certification for ISO 37001 ABMS. The year 2021 saw the ABAC™ Center of Excellence accrediting organisations such as UDA Holdings Berhad Group (UDA) and Mubadala Petroleum with the certification which is a success in the sense of achieving a transparent corporate model. Founder and CEO of CRI Group™ Zafar Anjum has stated “EIAC provide objective evidence that organisations operate at the highest level of ethical, legal and technical standards…That’s exactly where ISO 37001 fits in – helping to protect organisations from bribery and money laundering.”

Found fraud

Through various client engagements, CRI Group’s investigative analysts found a large number of red flags indicating possible fraud. How many? The answer may be surprising: our agents discovered more than 700 red flags across 80 countries. The first step in fighting fraud is knowing that it exists. The sooner it is discovered, the less damage a fraud scheme can do to an organisation.

During International Fraud Awareness Week, think about the statistics at the beginning of this article … and ask yourself or your colleagues: Are we doing all we can to prevent fraud? Remember, the landscape is always changing, and fraudsters will do everything they can to use evolving technology and other methods to find vulnerabilities. Moreover, the best way to fight fraud is to prevent it in the first place. CRI Group™ is here to help, contact us today to learn more.

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