Mr. William Robinson, Partner, Hong Kong

Ms. Akiko Yamakawa, Partner, Tokyo

Mr. Alexander Dmitrenko, Associate, Tokyo

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Money laundering, corruption, and human rights’ violations are at the forefront of many regulators’ and governments’ concerns. In order to mitigate the risks related to these behaviors, the authorities have put in place a range of measures, including sanctions, to limit their impact. This framework has often been inspired by US enforcement actions.

International financial institutions and multinational companies face many challenges in complying with what is now a complex regulatory environment. They need to, for example, identify indicators of money laundering and corrupt activities, and limit abuse by cartels. To do this, the companies need to have a range of robust measures in place.

The consequences to an institution of violating these regulations are significant: there can be substantial fines; the institution’s reputation can be severely damaged; and this can result in the loss of business opportunities.  

Three experts from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer from Hong Kong and Tokyo offices will present current regulatory trends in key areas including:

Anti-money laundering and “know your client”
Anti-bribery and corruption: the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), UK Bribery Act, etc.
Recent developments in sanctions regimes targeting Iran, Myanmar and Russia and their impact on Japanese businesses (to whom foreign banks may be providing the funding and therefore exposed).