February tech talk: Bribery and corruption - What it means to companies and individuals working abroad and how to mitigate the risk

Join the Perth Branch for their In-Person and Livestream February tech talk: Bribery and corruption - What it means to companies and individuals working abroad and how to mitigate the risk, presented by Professor Colin Roberts.

About this event

Bribery is classified as a serious crime in Australia. Australia’s foreign bribery laws have extraterritorial effect and apply to conduct not only occurring in Australia, but outside Australia where the offence is committed by an Australian citizen or resident, or by an Australian corporation (incorporated by or under a law of the Commonwealth or of a state or territory).

Australia’s federal bribery laws generally deal with bribery connected with public officials, whereas its state and territory laws apply to both bribery of public officials, and private or commercial bribery. These laws exist at statute and in common law.

It is one of the most disruptive and least comfortably discussed topics in international resource investment and commercial dealings. Rarely does it present itself neatly at the outset; more often it surfaces midway through negotiations, embedded in documents, or commercial behaviour that initially appears routine.

When it does, it tests the very honesty of the parties and displays the vulnerability of the investor.

Generally speaking, a bribe occurs where a person provides a benefit (meaning any form of advantage) to another person where that benefit is not legitimately due or is provided in dishonest circumstances, in order to influence that second person to do or not do something in respect of their official role or in respect of their business affairs.

This session will explore how bribery and corruption actually emerges in practice, the red flags that should not be ignored, and the systems to be put in-place to mitigate risk, prior to making difficult strategic and ethical choices that arise once the option of turning back is no longer an option.

Who Should be Interested?

• National Resource Companies
• Government & Regulatory Officials
• Resource Managers
• Bankers
• Geologists
• Engineers
• Lawyers
• Accountants
• Exploration Personnel
• Academics

In-Person Program
5.00pm - 5.30pm: Arrival and pre-event networking
5.30pm - 6.30pm: Presentation and Q&A
6.30pm - 7.00pm: Post event networking
Livestream Program
5.30pm - 6.30pm: Presentation and Q&A

Speaker/s

EurIng Professor Colin Roberts

FAusIMM(CP)

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Professor Colin Roberts practices as an International Natural Resources Geo‐strategist. He is an International Commercial and Investment Arbitrator, Chartered Petroleum Engineer, Chartered Mining Engineer, Chartered Scientist, Resources & Investment Legal Academic, Accredited International Commercial Mediator, Adjudicator, Expert Determiner and Dispute Board Member, with over 50 years of multi-disciplinary resource industry experience, most of which has been in the developing world.

Colin is also a Professor at WASM: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering - Curtin University, a member of Raffles Chambers – London and Director of Natural Resource Geo‐Strategy (NRG), Resource Dispute Resolution (RDR), and the Centre for International Dispute Resolution (CIDR).

After military service, Colin started his resources career as a driller and then mining and petroleum engineer. He now specializes in dispute resolution, mitigation of sovereign risk, advising governments in resources law and policy and facilitation of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the resources, energy, and infrastructure sectors. Fifty percent (25%) of Colin’s time is donated pro bono publico.

Colin holds, and has held, numerous public and private directorships, and among others was for eight years, the Honorary Investment Consul for Pakistan in Australia, Authorized Emissary for the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) ‐ World Bank Group, Australian Consular Warden – Zambia, Past Chairman of the AusIMM‐WA, Past-Chairman of the Mining Institute of Scotland, Past‐Chairman of the Society of Petroleum Engineers–WA (SPE) and has served or is serving on committees and boards of Energy Resources Law (formerly AMPLA), Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), Australian Institute of Energy (AIE), and others.

In his spare time, he serves as Patron of the International Bar Association (IBA), the AusIMM Ethics Committee and the AusIMM Perth Branch Committee.