Events

Introduction

Singapore is known for its very strong stance against corruption and bribery, but how do our laws compare against those of other countries? In recent years, a lot of attention has been on the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK's Bribery Act. The seminar will present an overview of Singapore's Prevention of Corruption Act, how our legislation compares with that in the US and in the UK, and advocate an internal compliance framework through which corporations and business organisations might be able to better manage its corruption and bribery risks.

Seminar Content

Legal framework in Singapore on corruption
- Prevention of Corruption Act
- Key provisions and case law
- Corruption, Drug-trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act
- Key provisions

US position (FCPA)
- Key features

UK position (Bribery Act)
- Key features
- Demonstrating adequate procedures

Cross-comparison
- Application to public/private sector
- Application to foreign/local operations
- Giver/receiver
- Any minimum thresholds
- Facilitation payments
- Preventive controls mandatory?

Implication for the Singapore work place
- How an organisation may be affected
- Application of UK control principles
- ABC tool kit

CPIB published case studies

Speaker Profile

Eric Chan

Eric Chan is a Partner of Shook Lin & Bok LLP. His area of legal practice is financial services regulation. His work includes advising and helping financial institutions to understand and comply with Singapore financial regulatory rules and regulations. He acts for financial institutions new to the market in applying for the requisite approvals and authorisations, as well as existing financial institutions in ongoing compliance matters. Presently, Eric’s work covers the full spectrum of financial regulatory issues in Singapore, including banking, insurance, capital markets, payment systems and services, anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance.

Eric’s work stems from his years of varied professional experience. He first started private practice doing commercial litigation. He later joined the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as in-house counsel, where he provided legal support and advice on various regulatory initiatives. During this time, Eric concurrently taught banking law as an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the National University of Singapore.

In 2003, Eric was seconded from the MAS to the Bank for International Settlements to do research on payment systems law. Later he rejoined MAS as Head of International & Regional Relations and worked on policy development for international central banking issues such as money laundering and sanctions compliance. In 2006, Eric joined American Express Bank as the Regional Director for Compliance & Ethics. From 2008 to 2014, Eric was a director in another leading Singapore law firm where he helped to set up their financial services regulation practice.

*This seminar is strictly for in-house counsel only