An International Guide to Corporate Internal Investigations, Section Edition

Praise for An International Guide to Corporate Internal Investigations: Second Edition

"A must-have, comprehensive guide to managing global corporate investigations and the stakeholders embroiled in them."—Mia Wellfare, Chief Compliance Officer, Ultra Electronics UK Holdings Limited

"Corporate internal investigations are delicate and require careful planning and execution. This guide is truly a must-have for any compliance function, providing valuable insight into the basics of internal investigations, highlighting the critical steps as well as country-specific nuances."—Martin Lønstrup, Vice President and Head of Group Compliance, Sandvik Group

"An extremely useful reference point from some of the best in the business, which clearly and succinctly explains to the reader what can often be the minefield of corporate internal investigations around the globe. A 'must- have' for those who may one day face such a situation."—Tom Chapman, Group Legal Director—Projects & Operations, SBM Offshore

"An invaluable guide, written by leading practitioners for practitioners. It shares best practices in key jurisdictions and offers practical tips both for in-house and external counsel."—Jean-Philippe Nerfin, Group General Counsel, Pictet Group

Corporate internal investigations are global in nature and frequently occur across different legal jurisdictions. Best practice requires a different but complementary approach in each jurisdiction. Practitioners must know the landscape in jurisdictions in which they do business. Local legal advice will almost inevitably be required. This second edition, revised and updated with three new jurisdictions covered, shares best practices for corporate internal investigations with robust localized guidance. In addition to the fundamentals of conducting an internal investigation, the reader will learn what legal and cultural nuances should inform investigations in a given jurisdiction. All chapters follow a parallel structure, including a summary of key recommendations at the end, to facilitate easy reference by busy counsel.

Table of Contents:

1. United States
2. Argentina
3. Australia
4. Brazil
5. France
6. Germany
7. India
8. Italy
9. The Netherlands
10. Switzerland
11. Ukraine
12. United Arab Emirates
13. United Kingdom

Mark Beardsworth is a partner at Signature Litigation’s London office. Mark focuses his practice on the defense of serious fraud and complex criminal and regulatory matters. He has been involved in more than 30 investigations conducted by the Serious Fraud Office over the last 25 years. These cases are often complex, high-profile, and international in nature.

Mark conducts internal investigations for major global corporates and advises those companies and their directors on risk and governance issues. He has conducted investigations around the world in numerous sectors and jurisdictions and is currently advising on matters involving issues in six continents. He is experienced in conducting investigations for a wide range of entities including regulators, charities, schools, local government authorities, and major sports teams. He helps clients to manage and avoid reputational and enforcement risk in a wide range of scenarios. 

Mark is recognized as a leader in the field of commercial fraud in The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners directories. He is also recognized as a Thought and Global Leader in Who’s Who Legal and Global Investigations Review for Asset Recovery, Business Crime Defense – Corporates and Individuals,

and Investigations.

Mark is the co-chair of the ABA Criminal Justice Section International White Collar Crime Committee.

Lucian E. Dervan is a professor of law and director of Criminal Justice Studies at Belmont University College of Law in Nashville, Tennessee. He created the ABA Plea Bargaining Task Force during his time as chair of the ABA Criminal Justice Section in 2018–2019 and went on to serve as co-chair of the task force. He is also the founding director of the Plea Bargaining Institute, which serves as the global intellectual home for academics, policymakers, advocacy organizations, and practitioners working in the plea-bargaining space to share knowledge and collaborate. His research and writing focuses on plea bargaining, white collar crime, and international criminal law. In the plea-bargaining field, his research and writing focuses on the history of plea bargaining, the constitutionality of plea bargaining, the psychological forces present in the plea bargaining system, and the phenomenon of false pleas of guilty by the innocent. In addition to his books and articles, he is the founder and author of The Plea Bargaining Blog. He is a member of the American Bar Foundation and previously served as a member of the ABA Board of Governors, chair of the ABA Commission on the American Jury, and chair of the ABA Criminal Justice Section. Previously, Dervan served as a law clerk to the Honorable Phyllis A. Kravitch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He also practiced law with King & Spalding LLP and Ford & Harrison LLP.

Patrick Hanes focuses his practice on handling all manner of disputes that arise from business competition and regulation. He has practiced with the law firm Williams Mullen in Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia, since 1995. His practice has included a broad base of civil and criminal litigation at both the trial and appellate levels. Patrick has substantial experience conducting investigations both in the United States and overseas. He has represented businesses and individuals in government and corporate investigations in matters involving securities and banking regulation, antitrust, conspiracy, wire fraud, tax disputes, environmental laws, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He has handled the defense of several dozen criminal and civil investigations conducted by the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, state prosecutors and other federal and state investigative and regulatory agencies. He regularly supports corporate transactions by conducting regulatory due diligence on a variety of matters. He has advised many clients on whistleblower matters, including employment retaliation claims. He also advises several public and private company clients regarding their legal compliance programs and conducts compliance investigations, risk assessments, and training inside the United States, as well as in several other countries in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe. Patrick is the co-chair of the American Bar Association’s White Collar Crime Regional Committee for the Southeast Region and the co-chair of the ABA Criminal Justice Section’s International White Collar Crime Committee. He also serves as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Richmond School of Law, teaching in the area of white-collar crime and investigations. Prior to joining Williams Mullen, Patrick served as a law clerk to the Honorable Albert V. Bryan Jr., Senior Judge for the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia. He received his law degree in 1994 from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a member of the University of Virginia Law Review. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia in 1988, where he was an Echols Scholar.

Yousr Khalil is a partner at Forensic Risk Alliance (FRA) and heads the French office. She is a forensic accountant with over 20 years’ experience in matters involving fraud and corruption, government contracts litigation and disputes, and internal investigations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF).

She is recognized by Lexology Index as an industry leader in its Investigations, Consulting Experts, Thought Leader, and Global Elite publications, where she is described as “terrific at what she does” and “a determined expert who produces outstanding work.”

Yousr led the FRA team supporting Airbus in a multi-year forensic accounting and e-discovery review within the context of the company’s multinational investigation, reporting to four investigative authorities: UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Department of State (DOS), and French Parquet National Financier (PNF).

Prior to FRA, Yousr worked for Kroll in Dubai as a senior director and was a key member of its Middle East financial investigations practice.

Ibtissem Lassoued has extensive experience advising international clients on a spectrum of complex, multijurisdictional white collar crime issues, including but not limited to anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing, global economic sanctions, anti-corruption issues including the extraterritorial effect of the US FCPA and UK Bribery act, complex fraud, extradition, and INTERPOL notices, and Capital Market investigations. Ibtissem offers clients a full and practical knowledge of the remit of inter-governmental organizations, in particular in relation to the FATF and MENAFATF, and the effect of these on anti-corruption efforts, confiscation of the proceeds of crime, de-risking, and the reporting of suspicious transactions.

Ibtissem has been ranked as Band 1 in Chambers Global for Corporate Investigations for six consecutive years since the category’s inclusion and is commended for being “a brilliant practitioner,” “as passionate about her area of expertise as she is knowledgeable,” and “stunningly good at what she does.” In February 2021, Ibtissem was appointed as the chair of the Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime Middle East and North Africa Chapter. Her work with the Global Coalition involves strategic oversight and direction of the Global Coalition’s activity in all MENA countries and active involvement in the development of an effective financial crime system across the public and private sectors. In 2019, she was ranked amongst Financial News’ 50 Most Influential Women in Middle East Finance, and is currently serving as a member of the International Advisory Board of the CEELI Institute, a nonprofit nongovernmental organization based in Prague, Czech Republic, dedicated to advancing the rule of law.