What lawyers should do to curb commercial corruption

2017 04/20
The Lansu commercial bribery incident was officially investigated by the Chinese police at the end of June this year,and has received high attention at home and abroad since the case was filed.Firstly,the amount involved in this case is extremely high.Since 2007,Glaxo has transferred as much as 3 billion yuan of funds through intermediaries.Secondly,there are many institutions involved in this case.After investigation,the police found that more than 700 travel agencies assisted Glaxo in bribery,and it is difficult to count the doctors who accepted bribes.Moreover,in this case,the nature of commercial bribery conducted by the company is very serious,and even teaches employees how to offer and accept bribes.In addition,the financial department is also arranged to cooperate with sales personnel to falsify accounts.The Glaxo incident has shaken the entire medical industry,and the public has paid high attention to it.The author believes that the legal services of lawyers in this field are worth studying.

Although the Glaxo incident is a case in point,it is unclear how many similar commercial bribery cases will require legal services from lawyers in the future."Bribery and bribery are like the two ends of a rope.As long as State functionaries are investigated for bribery,the enterprises and individuals that offer bribes will gradually emerge from the surface.".After the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,anti-corruption efforts have been greatly strengthened,and there may be more and more commercial bribery cases in the commercial field.

In the field of commercial bribery,the author believes that lawyers can provide at least four aspects of legal services:first,helping enterprises conduct internal investigations;Second,assist enterprises in establishing a corrosion prevention compliance system;Third,helping enterprises respond to external investigations and assist in participating in litigation;Fourth,helping enterprises recover assets.

In terms of internal investigation:After receiving relatively reliable reporting information or after visiting the investigation authority,enterprises generally hire lawyers to conduct internal investigations to confirm the facts of commercial bribery;Then analyze the internal procedures of the enterprise and formulate remedial plans;Finally,improve the company's internal control and compliance system through internal investigation.

Internal investigations typically include screening written materials and conducting interviews with relevant personnel.Lawyers should help companies first determine which materials need to be screened and which employees need to be interviewed.After determining the scope of the investigation,the lawyer needs to ensure that the company's servers,employees'computers,and other hard disk facilities,as well as the original accounts,are not transferred or damaged.During this process,lawyers need to pay attention to the following:First,when selecting partners,has the company conducted due diligence and produced relevant written records.Second,whether the selected enterprise has obvious defects in its qualifications.Third,whether the selected enterprise is recommended by government officials or has a close relationship with government officials.Fourth,whether employees or departments of the enterprise have abnormal payment behaviors without authorization.Fifth,when selling the same product,has the company ever charged different commissions at different rates to different distributors.Sixth,have companies or departments and employees ever reimbursed excessive conference fees,gifts,or entertainment expenses.Seventh,whether the payment by the enterprise conforms to the purpose of the contract and the agreed time.Eighth,whether the enterprise should make payments to a third party,offshore company,or unknown bank account at the request of the partner.Ninth,whether there are unknown expenditures in the accounting records of the enterprise.Tenth,whether the enterprise's partners cooperate with internal investigations and actively assist in clarifying facts.The above ten aspects can help enterprises collect clues and evidence of commercial bribery.

Helping enterprises establish a corrosion prevention internal control and compliance system can prevent accidents before they occur.In the medical field,enterprises can take the following ten steps to establish a corrosion prevention compliance system:First,conduct risk assessment based on the region and industry where the enterprise is located.Second,develop and implement a process for companies to collaborate with hospitals and doctors.Third,companies develop detailed monitoring plans for third-party agents and distributors.Fourth,if clinical trials are involved,companies should develop specific and independent work plans.Fifth,enterprises should uniformly approve sponsorship applications for doctors and hospitals.Sixth,enterprises should formulate and implement audit plans based on anti-corruption risk control.Seventh,enterprises should implement strict gift,catering,travel,and entertainment policies.Eighth,enterprises should establish a compliance certification system,provide compliance training for employees,and conduct annual certification for training content.Ninth,enterprises should establish internal reporting procedures to ensure that issues are properly resolved before they are disclosed to the public.Tenth,enterprises should conduct real-time evaluation of their internal control and compliance systems and continuously improve them.

In this area,lawyers can also assist companies in recovering assets,especially those that have been lost overseas.For foreign lawyers familiar with commercial bribery,this field is also a promising business development direction.