Skirting over financial crime due diligence when considering a quick transaction in an emerging market can cost you dearly down the line when regulators or shareholders discover issues with regulatory compliance after your transaction. The safer and ultimately more cost-effective course may be an independent assessment of the financial crimes compliance risks before completing cross-border transactions. Recent, high-profile government enforcement actions against respected companies and high-stakes civil litigation by shareholders, investors, and corporate officers, reinforce what is at stake.
Responsibility for financial crimes due diligence often falls to deal counsel, along with other tasks required to “get the deal through.” However, there is a case to be made for hiring independent compliance counsel for FCC due diligence. For starters, an independent counsel can bring a neutral perspective from the deal counsel who may overlook issues that are not central to completing the transaction.
Click here for Steptoe’s Client Advisory explaining 10 reasons for considering hiring due diligence counsel on your next deal.