Tag: corruption

ACi Whistleblowing Investigations Forum 2026 

ACi Whistleblowing Investigations Forum 2026: 

Where Good Intentions meet hard questions 

 

Whistleblowing cases are among the most sensitive and high-risk matters organisations face, and the way they are handled is under increasing scrutiny. When concerns are raised, the response can have significant consequences for employees, leadership teams, organisational culture, reputation, regulatory relationships and public trust. 

Against an increasingly complex legal and regulatory landscape, organisations are expected to balance strict legal and regulatory requirements with the need to respond fairly, proportionately and effectively. Good intentions and having empathy alone are no longer sufficient to withstand scrutiny. Organisations are expected to continually challenge whether their processes are delivering the right outcomes and have the confidence to ask the difficult questions: What is working well? Where are the risks? And where does change need to happen? 

Kindly hosted by Eversheds Sutherland, the ACi Whistleblowing Forum 2026 has been designed to move beyond theory and provide practical, pragmatic guidance for those responsible for managing whistleblowing concerns and investigations as well as facilitate asking the hard questions. 

Through a seminar-style programme of expert presentations, interactive discussions, real-world case studies, panel sessions and roundtable exercises, delegates will explore every stage of the whistleblowing investigation process, from the initial disclosure through to investigation, decision-making and conclusion. 

Rather than focusing solely on legal principles, the Forum will examine the practical challenges organisations encounter in real cases, encouraging open discussion, shared learning and the opportunity to ask the hard questions about current practice. Delegates will gain valuable insight into what works well, where investigations commonly fall short, and the practical steps that can be taken to strengthen processes and improve outcomes. 

The programme will explore what happens when whistleblowing processes succeed and, importantly, when they fail. 

Key topics include: 

  • Whistleblowing investigation planning and handling 
  • Consequence management and organisational decision-making 
  • Employment Tribunal scrutiny and lessons from litigation 
  • Effective interview techniques and evidence gathering 
  • Recognising and addressing unconscious bias 
  • Crisis communications and reputational risk 
  • Meeting the growing expectations of regulators, stakeholders and society 

To view the full agenda, click here.

Whether you are involved in legal, compliance, investigations, HR, governance, ethics or risk, the ACi Whistleblowing Forum 2026 offers a unique opportunity to learn from leading practitioners, share experiences with peers and develop practical approaches that will strengthen your organisation’s response to whistleblowing. 

Why Attend?  

This forum has been designed to provide practical insights that can be immediately applied within your organisation. By attending, you will:  

  • Learn from leading experts in corporate investigations, employment law, crisis management, and whistleblowing.  
  • Gain a deeper understanding of where whistleblowing investigations commonly fail and how to avoid costly mistakes.  
  • Explore the latest challenges facing employers, investigators, and case owners when handling complex disclosures.  
  • Examine real-life scenarios involving vulnerable whistleblowers, employment tribunal scrutiny, media interest, and reputational crises. 
  • Network with senior professionals Participate in interactive discussions, live polling, and peer-led debates on investigative bias, decision-making, and organisational accountability.  

Who Should Attend?  

The forum is designed for professionals with responsibility for receiving, investigating, overseeing, advising on, or governing whistleblowing concerns, including:  

  • Corporate Investigators  
  • Ethics & Compliance Professionals  
  • Whistleblowing Officers and Speak-Up Programme Managers  
  • Employment Lawyers and Legal Counsel  
  • HR Directors and Employee Relations Specialists  
  • Internal Audit Professionals  
  • Risk and Governance Leaders responsible for whistleblowing and/or are prescribed persons 
  • General Counsel and Company Secretaries  
  • Regulatory and Conduct Specialists who participate or investigate whistleblowing 
  • Fraud, Compliance and Financial Crime Investigators Non-Executive Directors and Board Members with oversight responsibilities of whistleblowing and can have SMF responsibility within the FS sector 
  • ESG, Culture and Integrity Professionals  
  • Crisis Management and Corporate Communications Professionals  

Move beyond theory. Ask the hard questions. Leave with pragmatic strategies you can apply immediately within your organisation. 

Date: 15 October 2026
Venue: Eversheds Sutherland, 1 Wood Street, London
Networking Drinks: 5:10pm – 7:00pm 

 

 

Tickets

 

Hosted by 

Sponsored by

Evento ACi Brasil

Garantindo independência em investigações corporativas: detectando sinais ocultos antes que virem consequências

A ACI Brasil convida profissionais da área de investigação corporativa, compliance, auditoria, riscos e inteligência para uma sessão presencial exclusiva voltada à troca de experiências, networking qualificado e discussão de desafios reais enfrentados no dia a dia da profissão.

Mais do que uma palestra tradicional, este encontro será construído em formato colaborativo, promovendo uma mesa redonda aberta para reflexões práticas, compartilhamento de experiências e debates sobre temas que impactam diretamente a eficiência e a independência do investigador corporativo.

Ao longo da sessão, discutiremos:

  • Como identificar sinais ocultos antes que se tornem consequências relevantes;
  • Os principais desafios relacionados à independência nas investigações corporativas;
  • Obstáculos que comprometem a eficiência do trabalho investigativo;
  • Tendências, experiências práticas e percepções do mercado;
  • Espaço aberto para outras discussões e questões amplas trazidas pelos participantes.

Nosso objetivo é criar um ambiente seguro e estratégico para fortalecer conexões, ampliar perspectivas e gerar insights aplicáveis à realidade dos profissionais da área.

Informações do Evento

Data: 09/06/2026
Horário: 8h30 às 11h30

Local: StoneTurn
R. Leopoldo Couto Magalhães Júnior, 1098 – 7º andar
Itaim Bibi – São Paulo/SP
CEP: 04542-001

Evento presencial gratuito
Vagas limitadas

Participe desta conversa e contribua para o fortalecimento da investigação corporativa no Brasil.

Bilhete

Energy and Extractives Investigations Forum

The ACi Energy, Extractives and Industrial Sector Investigations Forum 2026 Hosted by Deloitte | Tuesday 22 September 2026

Investigation Resilience

Hosted by Deloitte, this half-day forum brings together senior investigations, compliance and legal professionals from across the energy, extractives and industrial sectors.

Against a backdrop of evolving regulation, geopolitical complexity and increasing corporate accountability, this year’s theme is Investigation Resilience, exploring how organisations can strengthen their capacity to conduct investigations and to detect, respond to and learn from fraud, corruption and misconduct.

The afternoon programme includes  a keynote address and three expert-led panels covering the most pressing challenges facing investigators:

  • Failure to Prevent -Fraud or Bribery: How should boards, legal and investigations teams sharpen oversight, readiness and evidential decision-making s as the UK’s Failure to Prevent Fraud offence broadens corporate exposure alongside existing bribery and FCPA risk?
  • Third-Party and Procurement Risk: As organisations become decentralised, how can investigations functions move beyond reactive fact-finding to play a more active role in remediation and prevention?
  • Supply Chain and Commodity Trading Investigations: How can compliance and investigations teams detect, investigate and respond to fraud, corruption, sanctions evasion and trade-based financial crime across complex, opaque and high-risk supply chains?

The forum concludes with networking drinks – an opportunity to connect with peers and specialists across the sector. For the draft agenda click here.

Registration from 1:30pm | Forum begins 2:00pm | Networking drinks from 5:30pm

 

 Register

 

Kindly hosted by

Categories
News Research

Challenges to Corporate Investigations Survey Report

ACi and FRA have published a new report into the challenges investigators face.

 

Corporate investigations are under increasing pressure. Rising regulatory expectations, growing volumes of data, rapid technological change, and heightened stakeholder scrutiny are reshaping how investigations are conducted — often faster than organisations can adapt.

Based on input from more than 140 investigators across 42 countries and over two dozen industry sectors, this inaugural ACi–FRA benchmarking report provides a candid snapshot of the realities facing modern investigations functions.

 

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ACi Transport and Logistics Investigations Forum

The transport and logistics sector sits at the intersection of some of the most demanding and fast-moving regulatory environments in UK industry. Operators, investigators and compliance professionals face a landscape shaped by the Traffic Commissioner regime, the Health & Safety Executive, law enforcement, employment law, and an evolving patchwork of fraud prevention and anti-money laundering obligations, often all at once, and often following a single incident.

Whether you’re investigating a fatal road traffic collision, navigating an operator licence review, responding to a whistleblowing disclosure, or trying to get ahead of supply chain fraud risk, the pressures are real and the stakes are high. This Forum is designed specifically for the professionals doing that work.

About the Forum

This half-day ACi forum, kindly hosted by Weightmans, brings together investigators, compliance leads, legal professionals and industry figures for an afternoon of candid discussion, practical insight, and genuine peer connection.

There will be plenty of time for questions, and the evening closes with networking drinks so that conversations in can continue a more relaxed setting.

The full agenda will be published shortly.

Who Should Attend

If your work touches transport compliance, driver conduct, supply chain integrity or regulatory enforcement, you’ll find the afternoon directly relevant. This forum brings together corporate investigators, fleet and compliance managers, legal and regulatory professionals, HR teams working in logistics, and risk and insurance specialists, all grappling with the same complex, high-stakes environment.

Equally importantly, you’ll be in a room full of peers who understand the specific pressures of this industry. That’s often worth as much as the agenda itself.

Practical Details

Wednesday, 18th November 2026 Registration from 1.30pm | Proceedings begin 2.00pm | Networking drinks 5.30pm – 7.30pm Weightmans Delegate fee: £99.00 Internal Investigators/£199 External Consultants, Product and Service Providers.

 

 

 Register

 

Kindly hosted by

 

ACi Commodities Trading Investigations Forum

A trading firm is suddenly confronted with a fast‑moving compliance crisis. Regulators are asking questions, key decisions must be made under pressure, and critical facts are buried across emails, chats, company documents, the internet and third‑party records. The clock is running: preserve data, protect privilege, stabilize stakeholders, and rapidly understand what happened – being AI-assisted – before public misinformation and possible regulatory actions fill the gaps.

In this forum, we will walk through a realistic, end‑to‑end investigation journey – from “first hour” triage and governance, to AI‑assisted OSINT and rapid document review, to a live internal Subject witness interview and the boardroom decisions that follow. Expect interactive, scenario‑driven sessions showcasing practical resources, decision frameworks, and options you can apply immediately in commodities trading investigations.

For the full day’s agenda, please click here.
Tickets
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Challenges In Corporate Investigations: Survey Launch

Challenges in Corporate Investigations: Inaugural Survey Results Webinar | 29 April 2026

About this webinar

Corporate investigations are operating in an environment of accelerating complexity. AI is reshaping how evidence is gathered and analysed. Data privacy regulation is tightening. Investigative teams are stretched thin. And questions around independence are more pressing than ever.

To understand how the profession is navigating these pressures, the Association of Corporate Investigators (ACi), in together with Forensic Risk Alliance (FRA), is launching a dedicated benchmarking survey of the corporate investigations community, having gathered responses from over 140 investigators across 42 countries and 24 industry sectors.

Join us on 29 April as we present the full findings for the first time.

 

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What we’ll cover

  • The state of AI adoption in corporate investigations – the opportunities, the risks, and what investigators say they need to use it responsibly
  • Why capacity constraints are undermining investigation quality across organisations of all sizes
  • The stakeholder cooperation gap – and what governance structures are (and aren’t) helping
  • Emerging risks on the horizon: regulatory shifts, digital evidence challenges, and workforce change

Who should attend

This webinar is relevant to anyone involved in or responsible for corporate investigations, including professionals working in compliance, legal, HR, internal audit, and risk functions.

 

Register

 

Hosted by the Association of Corporate Investigators (ACi) and Forensic Risk Alliance (FRA).

The Anatomy of Investigative Failures – and How to Prevent Them

A Practical Two-Module Online Training Programme
2 × 90 Minutes
For In-House Investigators · Auditors · Lawyers ·
· HR Professionals ·

Even the most accomplished investigators sometimes get it wrong …

…. And this is what you can do about it to help protect you, and your organisation !

It’s a well-known fact – every year many organisations

  • reach inconclusive findings as a result of poor investigative process (not a lack of evidence)
  • lose employment tribunals when they are poorly prepared
  • suffer unnecessary regulatory enforcement actions and civil litigation because the investigation that followed was flawed.

Whether poorly scoped, using compromised or incorrect evidence, applying bias during interviews and/or producing Investigation Reports which don’t hold up to scrutiny, the failures are not a result of being able to uncover the truth, it was in “the process”.

The Association of Corporate Investigators has spent years reviewing investigations in every possible sector that went wrong: cases where reporters and whistleblowers weren’t taken seriously, where regulatory interventions exposed procedural gaps, and where the investigative process itself became the liability.

This unique and unrivalled programme distils that hard-won experience into two intensive, practical sessions designed to make your investigations defensible, proportionate, and fit for purpose.

 

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Who This Programme Is For

This training is built for the professionals who are called upon to investigate, or support / advise / audit / challenge related cases into workplace and corporate misconduct:

  • In-house investigators and compliance professionals who need clearly defined, structured, repeatable frameworks they can deploy under pressure
  • HR professionals who often manage grievances alongside investigations together with disciplinary processes and sensitive workplace matters where procedural fairness is non-negotiable
  • Lawyers and legal advisers supporting investigations or anticipating litigation, regulatory scrutiny, or tribunal challenge
  • Auditors and risk professionals assessing the quality, assurance and integrity of investigative processes within their organisations
  • Senior Leaders and Decision-Makers who are required to understand and navigate through investigation reports, recommendations and actions (and challenging where required to do so)

What the Programme Covers

Across two 90-minute online modules, you’ll work through the full lifecycle of a corporate investigation, from the moment a complaint lands on your desk to the final report, with a consistent focus on where things go wrong and how to stop them.

Module 1: The Foundations: Triage, Scoping and Evidence
Monday, 11th May 2026
10:00 – 11:30 UK time

The earliest decisions in an investigation are often the most consequential. This module examines the critical phase between receiving an allegation and triaging / assessing concerns before committing to a course of action. It also examines why mistakes made here tend to increase significant risks throughout the entire investigation process.

You’ll explore how to conduct effective triage, scope an investigation proportionately, and establish an audit trail that will withstand challenge. We examine the most common evidence-handling failures, including poor preservation, chain of custody gaps, and digital evidence pitfalls. We look at planning tools and risk assessment frameworks that keep investigations on track from day one.

Module 2: Interviews, Reports and Regulatory Scrutiny
Monday, 18th May
10:00 – 11:30 UK time

An investigation is only as strong as its conclusions, and conclusions are only as strong as the evidence and reasoning that support them. This module focuses on the stages where investigations most frequently unravel: the interviews conducted at every stage of an investigation through to the final investigation report, recommendations and actions.

Participants work through structured interviewing techniques, explore common failures in questioning and note-taking, and examine what fair, legally sound interview practice actually looks like. The module closes with a forensic look at investigative reports, including what regulators, tribunals, and legal teams look for, and how to produce findings that are clear, supported, and defensible.

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How the Programme is Delivered

This is a working programme, not a series of lectures. Insightful and inspirational thought leadership across both modules means that you’ll engage with:

  • Case studies drawn from real investigative failures across sectors
  • Scenario based learning which replicate the pressure of live investigations
  • Practical and helpful tools including investigation planning templates, scoping frameworks, interview checklists, and report structures aligned with regulatory and tribunal expectations
  • Workshop exercises many of which are built around the ACi GIR Corporate Investigators Handbook, key principles and applicable ISO frameworks.

The format is deliberately interactive. You’ll leave with tools and techniques you can put to work immediately.

What You’ll Take Away

By the end of both modules, participants will have a better understanding of  how to:

  • Triage and scope investigations proportionately, reducing the risk of scope creep and missed issues
  • Gather, preserve, and document evidence to a standard that withstands legal and regulatory challenge
  • Conduct structured, fair, and legally defensible interviews
  • Produce clear investigative reports that support robust decision-making and survive internal and external scrutiny
  • Identify the warning signs of an investigation that is going off the rails and intervene before the damage is done

Why the ACi

The Association of Corporate Investigators occupies a distinctive position: reviewing not just how investigations should be conducted, but studying in detail the cases where they weren’t. That insight into regulatory failure, whistleblower mismanagement, and procedural collapse  is what makes this programme different from standard investigative training. It is built on what actually goes wrong.

Places are limited. This programme is suited to in-house delivery for teams as well as open enrolment for individual practitioners.

Tickets:  £349

ACi Members: 314.10

 

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ACi Banking Investigators Forum

Join us for the ACi 2026 Banking Forum, a premier gathering of investigation professionals, legal experts, and senior leaders from across the financial services sector.

Taking place at Barclays Bank in Canary Wharf, this full-day forum brings together practitioners from some of the world’s leading financial institutions to examine the most pressing challenges facing banking investigations today. Through keynote conversations, expert presentations, and candid panel debates, delegates will explore how investigation functions are adapting to an environment of growing complexity, technological disruption, and evolving regulatory expectations.

This year’s agenda tackles the issues that matter most to the profession: designing investigation structures that can scale, integrating AI tools without sacrificing human judgment, navigating legal privilege, managing high-profile and sensitive cases in the public eye, and maintaining rigorous standards as the global enforcement landscape shifts. With speakers drawn from institutions including Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, Citi, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo, alongside leading KCs and independent experts, the forum offers a rare opportunity to benchmark practice, share hard-won experience, and engage in the kind of frank, peer-to-peer dialogue that drives real professional development.

Whether you lead an investigations team, advise on financial crime, or shape policy and governance, the ACi 2026 Banking Forum is the essential event for anyone serious about the future of banking investigations.

Date: 16 June 2026 Venue: Barclays, 1 Churchill Place E14 5HP

Location: Barclays, Canary Wharf

Format: Full-day in-person conference with networking opportunities

View the agenda and speaker line-up here.

Register

 

Forum Kindly Hosted By

 

Sponsored by

Offshore Alert London 2025

The leading event on intelligence, investigations, and asset recovery in high-value international finance, curated by editor David Marchant (175+ financial crimes exposed).

Audience: Corporate investigators, litigators, asset-recovery and insolvency counsel, funders, banks, enforcement officials, and in-house teams.

Exclusive ACi Member Rate: £795 (fixed partnership rate, no deadlines). Members can register via this link .