DBC Lunch 4th June

Corruption crimes, such as bribery or theft of public funds, generate significant proceeds that must be laundered or ‘cleaned’ to avoid problems with the tax authorities. Corrupt officials can also facilitate money laundering and influence the process, allowing illegal proceeds and money launderers to evade controls and sanctions.

According to 80% of Spaniards, political parties are susceptible to bribery and abuse of power for personal gain. In addition, it is believed that many civil servants involved in public procurement and building permits are guilty of this. A third (32%) of the population believe that corruption also affects crucial institutions such as the police and the courts.

The question arises: what happens when the very people charged with enforcing the law and protecting the public interest – politicians and officials within public administration – are involved in corruption crimes? In other words, who controls the controller?

At our upcoming DBC lunch we have invited fellow member Edo Bakker to tell us more about this. Edo is the CEO and founder of Agile Control Solutions, a company specialized in Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Terrorism Financing (CTF) solutions. Edo was previously AML & CTF Manager at PwC and Senior Advisor for Internal Audit & Compliance at KPMG.

Edo has been nominated for the 2024 edition of the Dutch Entrepreneurship Award, which will be presented in October during the National Business Meeting in Valencia.