Internal Investigations, Debarment and Sanctions

Large corporations are not the only entities that may benefit from an internal investigation. In fact, small businesses are just as susceptible to legal liability and can profit from taking steps to mitigate their risk in certain situations. An internal investigation gives businesses the chance to assess the level of risk and determine on an appropriate action plan to avoid liability.

Internal Investigation Attorneys For Your Small Or Local Business

The need for professional and discreet measures is enhanced by the fact that an investigation falling into the wrong hands, such as an adverse party, prosecutor or the Department of Justice, could lead to a lawsuit or even a criminal indictment. The misconduct of one employee or officer potentially means liability for the company as whole. As a corporation or company, you can protect your reputation by handling internal matters professionally by hiring legal counsel.

When You Need To Know All Of Your Options

At Joshi, we provide exceptional and discreet internal investigations for corporations and businesses around the world. We can help a company by guiding their internal investigation, provide skillful legal analysis, and refer outside experts to assist in gathering information. The firm employs a diverse and unique team of attorneys, researchers and investigators. We are based in the Detroit area (Ann Arbor) ready to respond to your internal investigation needs immediately.

Straightforward And Thorough: Internal Investigation Matters

As counsel conducting internal investigations within a corporation, we strive to be completely straightforward and thorough in our conduct. The goal is to mitigate the risk of results of an investigation falling into the wrong hands. We are clear from the start regarding the attorney-client relationship and how attorney-client privilege works in internal investigation matters.

We can conduct internal investigations on all types of matters including:

  • White collar crime defense
  • Money laundering and embezzlement
  • Bankruptcy fraud
  • Health care and insurance fraud
  • Employment law
  • Antitrust and securities fraud
  • Business tort
  • Bribery and foreign corrupt practices

Internal investigations can become very complicated as individual employees and officers within the company could become wary as to where an attorney’s loyalties lie. Our attorneys are absolutely forthcoming with regard to the proper procedures and boundaries that coincide with an internal investigation. It is vital that any information gleaned by conducting an internal investigation is gathered properly and in accordance with professional and ethical standards. Otherwise, this would lead to complicating an already complex matter even further.

Our lawyers are familiar with the nuances and subtleties involved in overseeing a small business’ internal investigation. Our managing partner, Ashish S. Joshi, is an expert in the field of corporate practice and has written several books and articles on the legal challenges facing small and local businesses.

The World Bank and Other Multilateral Development Banks’ Sanctions System

With the rise in global trade and business, the influence of the World Bank, African Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and other multilateral development banks in the fight against bribery, corruption and fraud is also on the rise. These institutions now routinely conduct anti-corruption, anti-bribery and anti-fraud investigations of bank-funded projects, with far-reaching consequences for small to mid-size companies.

The sanctions could include: Public Letter of Reprimand, Debarment, Conditional Non-Debarment, Debarment with Conditional Release, and Restitution. These institutions could also refer cases to a country’s enforcement authorities for further investigation and/or prosecution. Apart from the direct effect of these sanctions, the collateral consequences of sanctions, while not apparent right away, can be lethal and can have cascading effect on a small or mid-size business.

Protecting Your Small Or Local Business Against Crippling Sanctions

If you are a small to mid-size business, the stakes are significant for you: hefty penalties, contractual damages in addition to sanctions, sometimes even greater costs for legal and consulting services, reputational damage, loss of current and/or future business and of course jail time for individuals.

At Joshi, our team understands how to navigate through the complicated maze of multilateral bank sanctions process; the impact and significance of sanctions including cross-debarment; cooperation between multilateral development banks and national authorities and the impact of joint investigations between the banks and law enforcement.

Know Your Options: Time Is Of the Essence!

The single most important thing to remember when caught up in these choppy waters of multilateral development banks’ investigation, is to be proactive, take immediate corrective action and last but not least, have an attorney represent your business who is sophisticated in the areas of cross-border investigations, multilateral bank investigations and its direct and collateral consequences. Handling these investigations requires sound knowledge of the process, ability to respond with agility, creative approach to crafting a solution to avoid the most draconian of all sanctions – debarment, and a careful orchestration of the flow of information. Even when some sort of sanction seems inevitable, it is essential that your attorney knows how to mitigate the damage and the negative publicity surrounding such news.

For a consultation with Joshi, call 734-249-6170 or send the firm an e-mail.