The Securities And Exchange Commission - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about The Securities And Exchange Commission. Answer: The hospitality program conducted by BHP Billiton for the government officials in the Olympics games during the year 2009 in Beijing are considered to be inappropriate in the eyes of laws. This is because such hospitality program aims to gain support from the government officials by the company to achieve its business objectives. The SEC in this case has exposed the illegal practices of BHP Billiton that does not comply with the code of conduct of the company and therefore regarded to be unfair and unethical. The launching of a hospitality program is not considered to be appropriate for a business entity in general. There is a code of conduct for the government officials that they cannot accept any hospitability services and gifts that exceed a specific amount that is exposed by SEC during the hospitality program. These gifts and services are considered to be bribe offered by BHP Billiton for achieving its personal business motives and thus are regarded to be inappropriate (Plum, 201 5). BHP Billiton was the official sponsor of the Beijing Olympics games held in 2008 and company has the right to use the Olympics trademark and has the right to access the Olympics tickets. In additions of the tickets, BHP has the right to access the hospitality suits and also the accommodations. They make use of such access to invite the Chinese Officials to join such hospitality program for providing them entertainment and thus pleasing them to gain support for its mining deal in Cambodia (Groot, 2015). It has been reported in media that top executive of the BHP has approached the officials of the Beijing Olympics soon after the Sydney Olympics has ended in year 2000. The evidences also revealed that BHP Billiton was regarded to be as the diversified minerals and medal sponsor for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This also raised the questions regarding the nature of the sponsorship program of BHP Billiton. It has been exposed by SEC that such a program launched by BHP only aims to develop a closer relation with the Chinese government officials for its future business projects. The hospitality program not only aims to advertise the products and services of the company to the government officials but also to develop a strong bond with them. The development of closer relations with the Chinese Officials, who are mainly executives in state-owned steel making firms, was important for the company as they are its important clients (Plum, 2015). As such, the activities of BHP Billiton was considered to be inappropriate when it launched the hospitality program during Olympics at Beijing in the year 2008 as it has not implemented proper controls for preventing the occurrence of activities related to bribery and corruption. The company has also not provided details regarding the expenditure incurred during its hospitality program (Mintzer, 2015). It has been estimated that the company has incurred an expenditure of about 10 million dollars for entertaining the Chinese officials. As such, the high cost involved for carrying out hospitality program is regarded to be unfair and is considered as a case of foreign bribery. The program was launched by BHO Billiton in consideration of global ethics panel for ensuring the effective compliance with the Australian and international laws related to preventing the occurrence of corrupt practices such as bribery (Anti-Bribery Laws in Australia, 2017). The BHP Billiton is also alleged for inviting the government officials who are in a position to influence the pending matters of the company related to its mineral exploration activities in Cambodia. In addition to this, the SEC has also found out in the matter that the invites send by BHP Billion to government officials during the hospital program were not accurate and complete. It has also not provided specific training to its employees and executives for the hospitality program and therefore the staff members has not effectively complied with the anti-corruption polices during the program. There is absence of an independent risk and audit commit within the company that can shed light on the unethical activities carried out by the company during the hospitality program (Are your sponsorship and hospitality controls enough to satisfy the FCPA, 2015). The investigation of the hospitality program by the SEC has put BHP under the breach of Australian bribery laws. The case has put dire ct claims on BHP Billiton for launching the hospitality program only for supporting its business plans of growth in Cambodia. As such, bribing a foreign official is regarded as a serious offence under the section 70.2 of the Criminal Code in Australia. Thus, the analysis of the activities of BHP Billiton during the hospitality program has negatively impacted its brand image to a large extent in Australia (BHP Billiton: Resourcing the Future, 2009). References Anti-Bribery Laws in Australia. 2017. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ashurst.com/en/news-and-insights/legal-updates/quickguide-anti-bribery-laws-in-australia/ [Accessed on: 10 January 2018]. Are your sponsorship and hospitality controls enough to satisfy the FCPA? Maybe not. 2015. [Online]. Available at: https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=f6dada51-54f0-4dfb-9e23-03c9354b1b3e [Accessed on: 10 January 2018]. Groot, C. 2015. Sponsorship of the Olympic Games, BHP Billiton and the Securities and Exchange Commission. [Online]. Available at: https://leidenlawblog.nl/articles/sponsorship-of-the-olympic-games-bhp-billiton-and-the-securities-and-exchan [Accessed on: 10 January 2018]. Plum, A. 2015. BHP fined $US25m after Olympics bribery probe. [Online]. Available at: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/bhp-fined-us25m-after-olympics-bribery-probe/news-story/9e0022cc7cab5edeedcc71ae7f7c27a4 [Accessed on: 10 January 2018]. BHP Billiton: Resourcing the Future. 2009. [Online]. Available at: https://www.unglobalcompact.org/system/attachments/4518/original/sustainabilitySupplementaryInformation2009.pdf?1266389552 [Accessed on: 10 January 2018]. Mintzer, R. 2015. Inhospitable Hospitality: BHP Billitons $25M FCPA Fine. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/inhospitable-hospitality-bhp-billitons-25m-fcpa-fine/ [Accessed on: 10 January 2018].