Alcan: Aluminum Company Of Canada

Manufacturing Bribery Housewife becomes Informant The forensic accountant must understand the cardinal rule of protecting the informant. Quite often, a secretary will become the informant, however, in this case, the informant was a housewife and the alleged beneficiary of kickbacks, a division head of a public company. The housewife heard the rumor from the receptionist working for the vendor, the alleged payor. The Director of Corporate Security Jim Poirier for Alcan called for assistance. It is tough, particularly as a jolly-faced accountant to try to convince a stranger to completely trust your investigative skills. But she did, along with her... Read More...

Gulf Resources, Calgary, Alberta

Oil and Gas Bribery Oil Producing Bribes When a company’s management retains a forensic accountant to meet vendors regarding rumors of kickbacks, it obviously starts a lot of behind the scene movement between the payor and the payee when there is substance to the allegation. The phrase that describes such activity is simply actions not in the normal course of business, which can be reflected in both the personal and business relationships. For the forensic accountant, the question is whether or not a bad apple exists and the first challenge is to maintain the purity of both organizations. I consider... Read More...

Regina vs. Mel Kurtz

Construction Bribery VP Construction costs $21,500 This case gave me my first experience giving evidence in a bribery trial, which is legally described as “unlawfully accepting a secret commission.” Kurtz was convicted in February 1977 for receiving $21,500 as vice-president of a construction company. At issue in the case was the question of who was really the guilty party, the payor or the payee. From the payor’s perspective, it is essential to examine the family of companies associated with the contracting party when looking for the source of the payment. It will be somewhere, because the payor views the payment... Read More...

Regina vs. A. Pellizzari

Financial Institution Bribery One Bank Manager costs $10,000 This is a case of a bank manager eager to promote his loan program to meet his business objectives. There is nothing wrong with the objective but for the receipt of funds paid by the bank manager’s client to a company owned by the manager’s wife. Again, it is the human perspective, which requires study here, and that is why I include this case. The client’s loan amount was $1,647,000; the six payments to the bank manager’s wife’s company totaled $10,070.18. Clearly, the year, 1980, had not been good. Again and again,... Read More...