South African President Jacob Zuma in a high-level corruption scandal

Recently, South African President Jacob Zuma resigned in a late-night address to the country. This week, politicians and pundits continue to reflect on what led to his downfall – which, even in the midst of high-level corruption scandal, never seemed certain. South Africa high-level corruption scandal

Fraud accusations finally proved to be more than Zuma’s presidency could bear. Two years ago, South Africa’s top court found that failed to pay back public funds spent on his private estate. But it was “the reinstatement of corruption, fraud, money-laundering and racketeering charges related to an arms deal” that pushed the needle too far for South Africans (The Economist, titled “Why Jacob Zuma resigned”, 2018).

Investigators allege that Zuma received a staggering 783 payments from a former financial advisor convicted of fraud. But these were not isolated scandals. Zuma has been implicated and suspected in various corruption schemes dating back to the early 2000s… He became seasoned at fighting court battles, in many cases seeing charges dropped, reinstated, and then dropped again.

The situation is a reminder that fraud and corruption still permeate the highest levels of government in many – even most – countries. Indeed, Transparency International’s most recent Corruption Perceptions Index scored South Africa a 43 out of 100 (Transparency.org, titled “Corruption perceptions index 2017”, 2018), noting that the country “continues to stagnate” along with other African countries in the fight against corruption.

It’s troubling news when so many countries and their citizens are trying to make inroads against fraud and corruption, only to see those efforts thwarted by the very leaders they elected. Bribery is still one of the biggest scourges affecting economies today. In fact, Transparency International (titled “Corruption statistics”, 2018) reports that “more than 40 percent of employees at board and senior manager level said that sales or cost numbers had been manipulated by their company.”

But bribery and corruption eventually end in ruin, as former President Zuma’s case underscores. At ABAC Center of Excellence, we understand how critical it is for any organisation to get its integrity due diligence and compliance measures in proper order and create a zero-tolerance environment for corruption and fraud. A proactive way to do that is to engage ABAC Certification, a special program administered by CRI Group and its ABAC Center of Excellence.

ISO 37001:2016 for your organisation

ABAC Certification’s ISO 37001:2016 certifies that your organisation has implemented reasonable and proportionate measures to prevent bribery. These measures involve top-level leadership, training, bribery risk assessment, third-party risk management, integrity due diligence, financial and commercial controls, reporting, audit and investigation.

The ISO 37001 ABMS training and certification help your company address bribery in all its forms, including:

• In the public, private and not-for-profit sectors
• By the organisation
• By the organisation’s personnel acting on the organisation’s behalf or for its benefit
• By the organisation’s business associates acting on the organisation’s behalf or for its benefit
• Of the organisation
• Of the organisation’s personnel in relation to the organisation’s activities
• Of the organisation’s business associates in relation to the organisation’s activities
• Direct and indirect bribery (e.g. a bribe offered or accepted through or by a third party)

ISO 37001:2016 takes into account a compendium of international best-practices, enabling your organisations to apply and implement uniform anti-bribery measures irrespective of the various countries in which they operate. Help turn the tide against bribery in your country, and your industry.

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.