We invite you to read the LexLatin publication in which our partner Rodrigo Albagli, commented on what will be the Compliance Latam Forum 2024.
The Compliance Latam 2024 Forum, to be held on December 4 in Montevideo, will bring together experts to exchange experiences between Latin America and the United States.
Within the framework of Corruption Prevention Week, and with the aim of promoting the development of regulatory compliance in Latin America, the Compliance Latam* platform will hold its first face-to-face event on December 4 in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is the Compliance Latam 2024 Forum, an international meeting that will bring together more than 100 leaders from Latin America and the United States to analyze the challenges they faced during 2024 and the foreseeable opportunities that the sector will have in 2025.
“It will be a transformative forum, which will allow us to delve into ethical dilemmas and the role of boards of directors from a practical perspective to the new regulations that will set the tone during 2025 in the region,” says Rodrigo Albagli, partner at Albagli Zaliasnik (AZ).
Carla Arellano, counsel at Ferrere Abogados, considers that the initiative arises as a consequence of Compliance Latam‘s own maturity and growth.
“It is a platform dedicated to promoting and disseminating best corporate practices, organizational culture and regulation around the compliance ecosystem. It is made up of leading firms in the region and the United States, as well as dozens of collaborators who have joined, recognizing the great potential it has. We have held several virtual events and have disseminated dozens of articles and best practice guides on compliance in various areas, such as health, money laundering, personal data protection, corruption, antitrust and Fintech,” says Arellano.
This year, the Uruguayan firm proposed to move from virtual to face-to-face so that different industry leaders and experts in the practice area have a common space to share their experiences and best practices.
“We proposed to hold this first international forum in our offices in Montevideo and the firms on the platform immediately adhered to this proposal. Regional leaders will present the latest trends and challenges in compliance at the regional level, and the meeting will provide an excellent opportunity to establish a wide network of contacts, connecting with professionals from law firms and the public and private sectors throughout the region. Our main objective is to contribute to the strengthening of a culture of ethical compliance in the companies of the region”, says Carla Arellano.
Oscar Tutasaura, partner at Posse Herrera Ruiz, emphasizes that the Latam 2024 Compliance Forum seeks to promote a mutual learning environment, so that attendees can benefit from the experiences and approaches of their international colleagues.
“The knowledge acquired and the relationships established during the event will contribute to strengthening the culture of ethical compliance in companies in the region. Therefore, also, the forum will allow us to generate professional relationships that can be enriching and collaborative for the participants in the future”, predicts the Compliance expert.
Challenges of 2024 and opportunities for 2025
For Jeffrey A. Lehtman, partner at Miller & Chevalier, the three most relevant challenges for companies in the region this year have been: political uncertainty generated by changing priorities in the governments in power, compliance with laws in a complex regulatory context, and the management of resources aimed at strengthening companies’ compliance programs, especially to integrate new technologies into internal control processes.
“In the United States, regulators have been particularly focused on the region. In fact, through updates to their enforcement policies, they have pushed companies to strengthen their compliance programs to reduce the risk of non-compliance with various applicable laws, such as anti-corruption, money laundering and economic sanctions laws. Guidance over the past two years has focused on strengthening compliance programs through greater control over company data and information, including employee communications through instant messaging platforms; the need for a more robust incentive system that rewards employees who comply with laws and punishes those who do not; and the use of technologies and data analytics integrated into the various internal controls, such as third-party and payment management,” Lehtman summarizes.
For 2025, one of the central issues will be China’s growing influence in the region and the impact of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s decisions.
“With the recent change of government in the United States and in some Latin American countries, it is still early to know what the priorities of these governments will be in terms of the level of attention they will pay to the enforcement of anti-corruption laws and the impact this will generate in the region. What could be expected, considering the global context and the stance that the Trump administration appears to be taking, is greater attention to the enforcement of economic sanctions and import/export laws, including a special focus on cybersecurity. If so, companies should focus on strengthening their compliance programs in terms of the security of their technological structures, data management and third parties,” analyzes the Miller & Chevalier partner.
Best practices, internal investigations and FCPA
The meeting will be attended by 12 panelists from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the United States, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The first panel, “Transforming Compliance: Innovation and Best Practices”, will be moderated by Diego Ramírez, partner at Bustamante Fabara. Graciela Garay, Director of Ethics, Compliance and Integrity at CONMEBOL; Tomás Silberman, Head of Business Development at Complif; Guillermo Jover, counsel at Ferrere; and Alejandro Rojas, partner at BLP, will discuss the use of technology and the creation of ethical organizational cultures, exploring success stories and effective strategies.
The second panel, “Internal Investigations: Transforming challenges into opportunities”, will be formed by Stephanía Bresque, legal director at UPM; Óscar Tutasaura, partner at Posse Herrera Ruiz; Juan Pedro Quagliata, General Counsel at Megalabs; and Alejandro Visca, Senior Compliance Advisor at Galileo Financial Technologies. Yoab Bitran, head of the Compliance Group at Albagli Zaliasnik (az), will moderate the session and invite his colleagues to share innovative approaches and practical experiences from the receipt of a complaint to the final resolution.
Carla Arellano, counsel at Ferrere, will moderate the third panel, “FCPA and the effects of its implementation in the countries of the region”. Gabriela Vieira, General Counsel at dLocal; Verónica Sánchez, Corporate Compliance Manager at Corporación América Airports; Facundo Galeano, lawyer at Miller & Chevalier; and Gustavo Papeschi, partner at Beccar Varela, will analyze why knowing the extraterritorial effect of the FCPA and its application in companies in the region is crucial to avoid sanctions from U.S. law enforcement agencies.
To access the program, learn more about the panels and register for free to participate in the Compliance Latam 2024 Forum, click here.
*The Compliance Latam platform, dedicated to the compliance ecosystem in Latin America, is made up of the law firms Albagli Zaliasnik (Chile); Basham, Ringe y Correa (Mexico); Beccar Varela (Argentina); BLP (Central America), Bustamante Fabara (Ecuador); CPB (Peru); Ferrere (Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia); Lefosse (Brazil); Miller & Chevalier (United States); and Posse Herrera Ruiz (Colombia).
