CEP Magazine (September 2024)
In my July column, I wrote about the connection between corruption and the environment. But corruption also has a link to the “S” of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) pillars.[1] Corruption is both a cause and a tool for contemporary methods of slavery. And increasingly, laws are being enacted globally that establish requirements for companies to consider the risk of modern slavery in their operations, including those of their supply chains.
When the topic of modern slavery comes up, thoughts of forced prostitution are often among the first implications. And this continues to be a terrible problem globally. However, modern slavery has many varieties, ranging from forced labor used in otherwise legitimate business activities to entirely illegal operations. A rapidly growing example of the latter has become known as “human trafficking scam trade,” where workers are forced into operations aimed at scamming victims. Many “pig butchering” scams are carried out using forced labor, where modern-day slaves gradually lure victims into fraudulent investments, often involving cryptocurrency. In many of these cases, the perpetrators fake a romantic interest in the victim before convincing them to invest. Often, we think of these victims as individuals who fell for the investment scam. But, many times, there is an additional and even more widespread layer of victims who lose not just their money but their freedom.
I recently returned from the annual Association of Certified Fraud Examiners conference, where one of the speakers was Matt Friedman, founder and CEO of The Mekong Club, a nonprofit organization whose business associate members share a commitment to collaborating to create a sustainable approach to ending human trafficking. Friedman has 30 years of experience in fighting human trafficking in Asia, and he knows a lot about modern slavery and how and where it appears in commerce.
Turning back to modern slavery, fishing and shipping businesses are two industries with a high risk of exposure either legally or, at a minimum, reputationally. In 2023, the Mekong Club published its Guide to Minimising Modern Slavery Risk in Shipping Supply Chains, which provides many practical ideas for assessing this risk.[2] The publication includes a link to a very helpful self-assessment questionnaire, which describes in very specific terms characteristics in a variety of areas that result in the classification of compliance in one of three levels: basic, intermediate, and excellent. I suggest that any company with a risk of modern slavery in its supply chain consider using these tools: https://themekongclub.org/tool-resources/publication.
1 Gerry Zack, “Corruption and the environment,” CEP Magazine, July 2024, https://compliancecosmos.org/corruption-and-environment.
2 Tsz Yin Wong, Guide to Minimising Modern Slavery Risk in Shipping Supply Chains, The Mekong Club, February 2023, https://themekongclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/TMC-Guide-to-Minimising-Modern-Slavery-in-Shipping-Supply-Chains_Feb23_Final3.pdf.
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