by Daniel Feffer
ICC Brasil had the honor of hosting a meeting between the FBI and the Brazilian private sector on February 6th, to discuss compliance best practices.
Corruption scandals have become almost daily headlines in Brazil, eclipsing the hard and honest work done by most Brazilians and our companies, and undermining our international credibility.
The last years have demanded humility, diligence and resiliency in Brazil. But they have not been in vain. The proof was in our auditorium: almost 250 private sector executives – representing all sectors from the Brazilian economy – willing to listen, learn and create a dialogue.
If in the last decades Brazil has worked hard in becoming a democracy, overcoming hyperinflation and implementing economic stability, our challenge today is to make good governance, institutional stability and transparency stronger.
Anticorruption is not only a legal or ethical issue. It is fundamentally also an economic issue. Just to put this in numbers: Brazil loses 200 billion reais per year according to the United Nations.
Good anticorruption policies contribute to the stability of the business environment for Brazilian and foreign companies. This is key to ensure the return of economic growth and investment.
ICC was the first business organization to issue anti-corruption rules with the publication of its Rules of Conduct to Combat Extortion and Bribery in 1977.
These rules have constantly been updated to incorporate key international instruments, such as the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials of the OECD and the United Nations Convention on Corruption.
The meeting with the FBI is only one example of how ICC wants to engage the Brazilian private sector, bringing high level organizations and stakeholders to this space. We want to help this country turn the page and show the world – and Brazilians – that this is another challenge we were able to overcome.
