AfricanAntifraud.com Information

AAF is an online compliance resource on anti-bribery, anti-corruption, and anti-fraud issues in Africa. Compliance with the U.S. FCPA, UK Bribery Act, and other anti-bribery laws with an international jurisdictional reach is becoming indispensable for foreign (and domestic) corporations and executives. The commensurate risk of finding yourself or your company at the wrong end of a (criminal or civil) anti-bribery investigation by a foreign government can be lowered by (1) knowledge of the legal and enforcement landscape; (2) prevention, compliance, auditing, and training (including 3d party vendors, intermediaries/agents, and other often overlooked entities); and (3) retention of qualified legal counsel. As Africa is becoming the de facto “BRICS continent” — widely forecast to show exponential economic growth over the coming decades – these compliance issues will only further come to the fore. Early adopters of a comprehensive compliance and internal auditing regime will undoubtedly reap benefits from their efforts. Affected jurisdictions include not just South Africa (the “S” in “BRICS”), but also recently-maturing markets in northern Africa, emerging markets in the western and southern parts of the continent, and many so-called fledgling economies in between. All of them are slated to show a future combined growth rate that has the potential to be greater than that of the European Union, the United States, and even Asia. Africa’s GDP growth is estimated to 5.3% in 2014 according to World Bank statistics. Foreign direct investment has increased up to 20% annually, thanks in part to the continent’s richness in natural resources, growing population, underutilized agricultural opportunities, and booming telecom, construction, and health-care sectors, to name only a few.