In December 2016, the construction company Odebrecht admitted to US prosecutors that it had paid over $700m in bribes across ten countries in Latin America. The revelation led many of these countries to launch their own cases. In some, the investigations toppled heads of state, ministers, and titans of business; in others, investigations stalled or were never properly begun.
Almost 26 months after the case broke, why have some corruption prosecutions in Latin America achieved groundbreaking results while others are less advanced? Are disparate outcomes driven by judicial independence, availability of legal and procedural means, prosecutorial strategy, cooperation among countries, or other factors?
To analyze these questions and distill lessons from recent cases, the Inter-American Dialogue and Inter-American Development Bank are pleased to host “Corruption Prosecutions in the Americas: A Comparative Analysis.” This event will mark the launch of a new IDB/Dialogue symposia series that will convene leading anticorruption, transparency and integrity experts to identify targeted solutions to these issues in Latin America and the Caribbean. Follow this event on Twitter at #ProsecutingGC and @The_Dialogue.
WELCOME REMARKS
Michael Shifter
President, Inter-American Dialogue (@MichaelShifter)
OPENING REMARKS
Roberto de Michele
Modernization of the State Principal Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank (@rodemichele61)
COMMENTATORS
Rodrigo Janot
Former Prosecutor General of Brazil (@Rodrigo_Janot)
José Ugaz
Former Ad-Hoc Attorney for Peru; former President of Transparency International (@JoseUgazSM)
Claudia Paz y Paz
Former Attorney General of Guatemala (@ClaudiaPazyPaz)
Kevin Gingras
Former Foreign Corrupt Practices Act trial attorney, US Department of Justice; former Counselor to the Director of the FBI
MODERATOR
Michael Camilleri
Director, Peter D. Bell Rule of Law Program, Inter-American Dialogue (@camillerimj)
Simultaneous interpretation will be provided.
A light breakfast will be served.