Events

“We believe in the competiveness of fair play”

June 4, 2010 Budapest - US Ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis met the Members of the Corporate Supporters’ Forum of Transparency International and discussed the key elements of essential anti-corruption measures in Hungary. Ambassador Kounalakis explained the positive impact of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which addresses accounting transparency requirements and prohibits bribery of foreign officials by US companies. The Ambassador highlighted the importance of a proper regulatory environment which has an immediate and positive effect on business conduct and on society as a whole. She is convinced that the two-thirds majority of Fidesz-KDNP gives Hungary a unique opportunity to bring about structural reforms and to fight effectively against corruption.

„The business community needs to send a clear message to the new government that it must support a competitive business environment in Hungary” –said the Ambassador. The Members of the Corporate Support Forum, among other priorities, mentioned the necessity of a new public procurement act and the need for an effective law enforcement system to help deter corruption.

The Members of the Corporate Supporters’ Forum of Transparency International (CSF) is a group of corporations which are dedicated to the value of transparency and ethical business conduct. The CSF Members meet regularly with politicians, diplomats, decision-makers to indicate changes in the Hungarian business environment and form coalitions to fight effectively against corruption.

EBRD Chief Complience Officer in Budapest, as the guest of Transparency International

Enery Quinones, the Chief Compliance Officer of EBRD (European Bank of Rebuilding and Development) visited Hungary as the guest of Transparency International (TI).

At an informal breakfast, Ms. Quinones met with the Corporate Supporter Forum of the Hungarian TI Chapter, where she shared her practice and expertise about the compliance organization and policies of EBRD. She emphasized the importance of setting up an internal compliance department. She talked about why EBRD's efforts against corruption are necessary to protect the Bank's Integrity and Reputation. She described the Bank's compliance policy and procedures particularly as concerns integrity due diligence before making any investment decisions as well as the enforcement policy which sanctions companies or individuals found to have engaged in fraud and corruption. She accentuated that prevention programs and systems should be the first focus of the compliance teams.

While talking about the future trends of compliance policies Ms Quinones explained that the different development banks are working on standardizing their compliance criteria. The first steps have already been taken, since these banks have unified their definitions for “bribe”, “corruption”, “collusion” and “coercion”.

During her visit to Hungary, Enery Quinones, also met with the chief compliance officers of the Hungarian banks and the president of the Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority, Adam Farkas, and the Ambassador of the United Kingdom, Mr. Greg Dorey. In his speech, Mr. Greg Dorey emphasized the importance of all anti-corruption issues, and welcomed all initiatives to make the Hungarian business environment more transparent for investors.

The chief representative of the IMF met with Transparency International Hungary

IMF chief representative was invited to the business breakfast of Transparency International Hungary on September 15, 2009 with the aim to learn about Hungarian and regional macroeconomic trends. Iryna V. Ivaschenko, the chief representative of the International Monetary Fund in Hungary and our Corporate Supporters Forum members discussed about Hungary’s and the region’s macroeconomic situation.

Hungary and the International Monetary Fund have been in cooperation for assisting Hungary to come out of the crisis since November last year. The business sector was profoundly hit by crisis and it seems that the loss profit implies survival techniques that might result in the increasing grey economy. At the same time the business society plays a crucial role in recovering Hungary’s economic stability.

This discussion was a forum where business leaders committed to the issue of transparency had to opportunity to learn about Hungarian and regional macroeconomic trends and to share some experiences that might be useful for the IMF.