A number of months ago, Paul Hamilton, KYC Cube Ltd, asked me if I wanted to be the group moderator on Linkedin of a new subgroup for his AML Knowledge Center, dedicated to anti-bribery compliance and best-practices. My reaction, ‘really?’ Another LinkedIn group? But after a few discussions with Paul, as I was not easily persuaded, I was finally convinced that a LinkedIn group based thoroughly on thought leadership, best practices, and open discussion a could only be a success. I would like to share that discussion with Paul in a brief Q&A. More on the group at the end of our Q and A, but the link to the Anti-Bribery and Compliance at the Front Lines group can be found here.
So, Paul, you have an interesting background. Do you mind introducing yourself?
Thank you, Richard, and I am really looking forward to seeing how your group develops. About me, well, after concluding a successful transition from professional sports, I spent 6 years in the financial services industry before shifting to the IT industry. It was during this period of time that I developed a passion for supporting financial institutions in combating money laundering, and to help compliance teams unravel the complexity of AML software and to avoid unnecessary costs. Therefore, we started the KYC Cube Ltd to help regulated companies minimize the risks associated with KYC, by offering a simplified and affordable way to train staff online, screen sanctions, peps and watchlists to protect organizations from becoming unwitting victims. www.kyccube.com
How did you get involved in starting your own Linkedin group?
A big part of what we do is the transfer of knowledge. Therefore, I established the AML Knowledge Centre on Linkedin. This platform isn’t about the constant uploading of news headlines nor is it about bashing financial institutions for compliance violations. However, it is about sharing AML best practices, creating awareness of money laundering schemes, and giving the community useful information on which they can gain knowledge.
Paul, it is a really engaging group, so why ask me to lead an anti-bribery group as part of the Knowledge Center?
Based on the success of the AML Knowledge Centre within a short period of time, I saw the demand for more engagement on Anti-bribery Compliance. Richard, I have always highly regarded your contributions to the AML Knowledge Centre and your passion for the topic, so you were my first ‘go-to’ with an idea of us forming an Anti-Bribery group on Linkedin.
Thank you, Paul. There are some really incredible Linkedin groups, and I am honored to be asked by you to be a group leader. I appreciate the work and dedication of the owners and moderators; as such, I hope to create a similar forum, even with a different perspective. I think the first step is to invite others to join and post (here).
So, here are the group goals and guidelines:
Create and foster an open, professional and constructive environment where real-world corruption challenges that confront international teams can be discussed.
Bring in perspectives from the field with ‘lessons learned’ moments from both positive and negatives experiences. I want to move beyond textbooks, and enforcement action reports, into front-line reflections that are valuable and actionable, with the suggestions of ‘best practices.’
The group encourages those who are familiar with, either as author or consumer, information and research relative to ethical decision making to share. The field of behavioral research has great relevance to anti-bribery compliance and I encourage members to any behavioral work that might resonate.
The group does not object to promotions if they relate to symposiums or speaking engagements. By all means, if your are attending, speaking, or want to write about the forum afterward, share away!
The group is not interested in “pitches” for consulting services, software, or otherwise. If you have something to share which will produce critical thinking, please be a part of the community.
Be nice! We all don’t agree but when you might disagree or challenge, do so in a way which is respectful and encourages the dialog and continued discourse.
As to the mechanics, I will figure those out as I go, so please be patient!