Seinc discusses preventing and fighting corruption during the WGFACML meeting

From October 10 to 12, the Deputy Secretary of External Control of the Department of External Control for Strategic Information and Innovation (Seinc), Hamilton Caputo Delfino Silva, represented the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) at the 16th Meeting of the INTOSAI Working Group on the Fight Against Corruption and Money Laundering (WGFACML) in Bangkok, Thailand. 

TCU carried out two presentations during the event. The first, focused on the central theme of the meeting, addressed the development and use of the tool for Assessing Risks of Fraud and Corruption in Acquisitions, resulting in the development of the Marina (Map of Risks in Acquisitions) dashboard. 

The second presentation shared the experiences and best practices of the TCU in the fight against corruption and money laundering, including corruption prevention measures, risk analysis tools, systematic and continuous audits in the areas of personnel and training, strategic partnerships with other audit institutions, the use of geotechnologies and the promotion of transparency, among others. 

The event also provided a more detailed understanding of the developed and ongoing actions related to the three main objectives listed in the WGFACML Work Plan for the period 2023-2025. 

In this regard, relevant information was exchanged on ongoing actions aimed at providing training to professionals from Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) in the areas of anti-corruption and money laundering, especially in the discussions with the World Bank and the International Anti-Corruption Academy, as well as on the actions that, as suggested by Hamilton Caputo, will be initiated with the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA). 

It also proved to be interesting the disseminated information about the ongoing work of the subgroups formed to define guidelines for action in the areas of auditing corruption risk management, auditing whistleblower systems, fighting money laundering, and public-private partnership projects. 

SAIs have been invited to express their intention to join the above mentioned working subgroups, or even directly invited to do so, as was the case with TCU in three situations. 

In the end, a new composition was established for each of the subgroups mentioned, together with the definition of their respective deadlines for the presentation of results. In the case of the TCU, participation was indicated in the following four subgroups, coordinated by the respective SAIs mentioned:  

1. Audit of corruption risk management - SAI Austria; 

2. Fulfillment by SAIs of their obligations under the United Nations Convention against Corruption - SAI Egypt; 

3. Audit of national systems for preventing and fighting corruption - SAI France; and 

4. Detecting corruption through audit or investigative techniques, tools, and resources - SAI Philippines. 

The topics of the subgroups are in line with the actions currently being developed by Seinc. 

Fighting Corruption and Money Laundering  

Regarding the exchange of good practices and experiences in the fight against corruption and money laundering, the presentations of SAIs Austria, France, and UAE stood out, while the work of SAI Thailand was particularly notable among other presentations on the use of artificial intelligence in tackling corruption. 

During the event, participants interacted with representatives from their respective countries and discussed possible additional actions to share information and build partnerships. For example, in the subgroup coordinated by the French SAI, its representative expressed a keen interest in closer cooperation and the exchange of experiences.  

It is also important to monitor the progress of the discussions between the WGFACML coordination and the IACA, aiming at providing training, since Hamilton Caputo recently met with a representative of the institution in Brazil with the same objective. 

In all of these cases, the actions to be implemented have the potential to significantly enhance the work carried by TCU in preventing and fighting corruption.