Dear TIPS member,
Please see below the TIPS Newsletter for September 2019. We look forward to seeing you soon.
- the TIPS team
1. Announcing... a new advocacy initiative: One Minute Reads
TIPS is excited to announce the launch of its new information hub, ‘One Minute Reads’, where you can find snippets of information on current matters in the anti-corruption world, links to interesting articles, reviews of books, podcast
suggestions and other quick reads.
Busy schedules and work-life balance do not always allow much time for reading long articles on matters of interest, and that is why TIPS is allowing you to have the information at your fingertips.
As a TIPS member, you have the opportunity to contribute to the hub! If you wish to share your One Minute Reads on the TIPS website, please do send your contribution to asidossis@4-5.co.uk. Feel free to include links to other websites
with your contribution. Full credit will be given to authors: your name will appear on the TIPS website, which is visited by professionals and academics in the anti-bribery and anti-corruption field. We look forward to receiving your contributions!
If you have any questions about One Minute Reads, please contact Alex Sidossis, TIPS Advocacy Lead, at asidossis@4-5.co.uk.
2. Upcoming Events (register on our events page)
Breaking the boundaries between Fraud & AML | 3 October 2019 | 6pm-9.30pm
35-41 Folgate St, Spitalfields, E1 6BX
Creating positive change in organisations | 15 October 2019 | 6.30pm-8.30pm
Initiatives of Change, 24 Greencoat Place SW1P 1RD
8th Annual Anti-Bribery and Corruption Forum | 17-18 October | 9am - 5pm
Exchange House, City of London
TIPS Networking Drinks | 28 October 2019 | 6.30-8pm
Balls Brothers, 10-11 Austin Friars, EC2N 2HG
Feeling your (white) collar? | 19 November 2019 | 6.30pm-9.30pm
KCL, Bush House Auditorium, WC2B 4BG
3. Recent TIPS Events
On 23 September 2019, around 12 TIPS members met at the Bootlegger in Monument for an evening of engaging discussion on Tier 1 Investor visas.
Richard Cheung and Joseph Sinclair, both new TIPS managing committee members spoke from their respective experiences as an AML Governance Associate managing AML and KYC matters within an international bank and as an immigration practitioner managing several on-going investor visa cases.
This led into a discussion around the efficacy of investment-based visas, whether banks should be the “gatekeepers” and how national governments can play their part in reducing the exploitation of potential visa loopholes.
It was a hugely engaging evening with some fantastic insights and philosophical contributions from both the speakers and attendees.
4. Other items of interest
Ministry of Justice releases report on latest data for recovery of criminal assets
On 13 September, the Ministry of Justice released its asset recovery report showing data on assets recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. This shows that, in 2018/19, £217m was collected and 15 Unexplained Wealth Orders was issued (totalling £143m). See here.
TI-UK publishes report on five principles for engaging citizens in anti-corruption mechanisms
TI-UK has published a report based on research into “why and how people decide to report corruption and what sustains initial engagement”. It sets out five principles that inform how organisations can understand, analyse and possibly adapt their anti-corruption mechanisms to become more effective. See here.
Home Office in cash-for-passports scandal
An investigation has revealed that Russian and Chinese millionaires can buy access to British passports by exploiting a flawed Home Office scheme fast-tracking the super-rich. Legal and financial advisers were filmed boasting about their role in securing scores of “golden visas” for millionaire foreign clients. See video footage here, relevant transcripts here and a related article here.
Hunter Biden’s Perfectly Legal, Socially Acceptable Corruption
Following the Trump whistle-blowing scandal, the author of the Thieves of State, Sarah Chayes, examines the kleptocratic practices of those connected to government through the example of Joe Biden's son and his connections with Ukraine. See here.