Roland M. Stein was one of the speakers of the webinar: The Importance of Compliance Programs in World Bank Projects, hosted by the Brazilian Association of Infrastructure and Basic Industries (ABDIB) on 26 July 2021. The panel also had as key speaker Lisa Miller, Integrity Compliance Officer at The World Bank and as a mediator Thiago Jabor Pinheiro, partner at the Brazilian law firm Mattos Filho.

The World Bank has published the first consultative resource on exclusion systems, giving insights about how different jurisdictions worldwide employ exclusion mechanisms to prevent certain suppliers from accessing public funds. “The Global Suspension & Debarment Directory” is based on the 2020 Global Suspension & Debarment Survey and the input of numerous experts. BLOMSTEIN Counsel Florian Wolf has contributed to the chapter on Germany.

On 25 May 2021, the webinar on exclusions and debarments presented in Europe by the Debarment and Exclusions Subcommittee of the International Bar Association (IBA) took place. The webinar was moderated by BLOMSTEIN partner Roland M. Stein. A recording of the virtual event is online now.

Blomstein has advised the Allianz for Development and Climate Foundation on a procurement procedure for the selection of an asset manager. The foundation conducted a competitive selection procedure. In accordance with its foundation philosophy, it placed a special focus on sustainable investment strategies and the integration of ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) investment criteria.

In the past years, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank have increased their investigations in Brazil, sanctioning two Brazilian construction companies on grounds of corruption in projects financed by them. In 2020, Andrade Gutierrez, one of the companies involved in Operation Car Wash (codenamed Lava Jato), was prohibited from participating in public procurement projects financed by the IDB and the World Bank until the end of 2022. The sanction was reduced due to a Negotiated Resolution Agreement (NRA) with the IDB. Given that an NRA is conditional on presenting relevant information to the IDB, it is expected that Brazil will remain under the IDB’s scrutiny.

With the draft of the Corporate Liability Act (VerSanG), the Federal Government has implemented its long-cherished plan to introduce corporate sanctions. The background to the amendment is that companies currently have their misconduct only sanctioned as an administrative offence. This means, among other things, that authorities have discretion to decide whether to prosecute such misconduct. In addition, the fines that can be imposed under the Administrative Offences Act are capped at 10 million EUR, irrespective of the size of the company.

In case you are interested in the Inter-American Development Bank’s policies on sanctions and debarments, please join us in a webinar on 27 November. The webinar is being organized by PUC-RIO together with BMA and BLOMSTEIN. We are very happy that IDB’s Juan Ronderos will be joining us.

The subject of cybersecurity has gained in importance within Germany and the European Union. There is a growing need to protect the digital market, and players’ IT systems therein, against cybersecurity threats. In the last two years, 68% of enterprises have registered cybersecurity attacks against them. According to the President of the German Federal Office for Information Security (Bundesamt für Informationstechnologie or BSI), the number of malware programs that we currently know of in Germany (roughly 800 million) grows each day by 390,000. Consequently, European and German legislators have taken measures in order to strengthen cybersecurity, thereby imposing a multitude of new obligations on EU Member States and enterprises. This briefing aims to provide an overview of the most relevant cybersecurity legislation and the requirements affected parties must meet.

Cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important. In the wake of cyberattacks on the German parliament, the foreign office and on prominent public figures, there is now greater awareness of the need for the state and companies to protect the integrity of their existing IT systems. The following article explains how a public contracting entity can achieve a higher standard of cybersecurity through its procurement procedures. Another related article provides an overview of some of the particularities that arise in the procurement of cybersecurity goods and services.

Cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important. In the wake of cyberattacks on the German parliament, the foreign office, and on prominent public figures, there is now greater awareness of the need for the State and companies to protect the integrity of their existing IT systems. The following article will provide an overview of some of the particularities that arise in the procurement of cybersecurity goods and services. Another article explains how a public contracting entity can achieve a higher standard of cybersecurity in its procurement procedures.