ICAS Global Governance
With compliance-focused organizations in over 123 offices covering more than 85 countries and their capital cities, we have the global breadth, local knowledge and industry experience to guide clients in all aspects of designing, implementing and managing compliance programs, assessing and mitigating risk, remediating compliance issues and running internal investigations.
We have the local knowledge to apply the regulatory, economic, political and cultural context to legal issues and develop case strategies. We regularly handle technically challenging and complex multi-jurisdictional matters.
Our global reach allows us to provide you with fully integrated teams and consistent quality wherever you do business. We work with you to manage potential risk and implement the most effective solutions to reduce costly escalation. We aim to solve complex business disputes as swiftly and effectively as possible and provide solutions which are aligned with your business objectives.
ICAS global team of disputes and regulatory lawyers is the largest dedicated disputes practice globally as recognized by The Lawyer’s Top 50 Litigation survey.
In an environment where regulation and its enforcement will only increase, we recognize that effective compliance and avoidance of regulatory intervention are business critical issues.
Globalization of world markets has brought limitless commercial opportunities. However, it has also increased the potential for legal liability by exposing corporations around the world to financial and reputational risk across multiple jurisdictions.
Mitigation of those risks requires early engagement with experienced lawyers who understand the cultural as well as the legal and regulatory landscapes but who will also drive relentlessly to deliver results for their clients when a dispute or regulatory intervention is unavoidable.
The best compliance program in the world is worthless if it cannot be implemented effectively. Importantly, our compliance team includes former counsels and in-house chief compliance counsel, as well as business leaders who ensure we provide practical and actionable advice.
Regulators recognize this and often investigate whether an organization’s compliance program is truly integrated, or whether it is simply a paper program. But a compliance program is equally worthless if it does not also allow you to conduct business profitably and efficiently.
We understand this balance and ensure that our compliance advice and recommendations can be implemented and eliminate or mitigate a company’s greatest legal risks without disrupting lawful business goals and practices.
Your ICAS Compliance Program must include, at a minimum, the following:
First, your business should formally adopt an AML Compliance Program. This Guide can serve as the basis for that program, however, you must check with your local regulations for the specific requirements for adoption of a Compliance Program. form that can be used to certify adoption of such a program.
Second, your business must designate a Compliance Officer. The Compliance Officer may be an employee who has other duties at your business, but it should be someone in a responsible position. The Compliance Officer is responsible for your business’s day-to-day compliance with the AML laws and regulations, and for ensuring the Compliance Program is updated as needed. The Compliance Officer is also responsible for overseeing your business’s ongoing education and training program. When you designate a Compliance Officer, verify that the qualifications of that person meet the local requirements and document it accordingly. You can complete the sample Designation of Compliance Officer form shown and then retain it in your AML compliance files.
Third, your business must adopt policies and procedures for the identification and reporting of Suspicious Activity and High Currency Amount Transaction Reports. You must check with your local regulations for these thresholds and what it considered to be a suspicious transaction as well as the allowable time delays to report such activity. If you’re business plans to impose stricter thresholds than those required by your government, those should be included in your Compliance Program.
Fourth, your business must establish an ongoing employee-training program for all employees who will have any involvement with the activities. The education and training should include instruction on the employees’ responsibilities under the program, as well as the detection of suspicious transactions. One good tool for training is this Guide. All employees should be required