INTRODUCTION

BFD is committed to acting professionally and fairly in all of its dealings and relationships, employing the highest standards of openness, transparency, and accountability and takes a zero-tolerance approach to fraud, bribery, and corruption. BFD promotes a culture of honesty and integrity and opposes any form of fraud, bribery or corruption. Fraud, bribery and corruption impact disproportionately on the poor and the most vulnerable people in Sudan. Such criminal activities divert resources intended for humanitarian assistance and development away from our intended beneficiaries; they increase the costs of basic public services and undermine economic growth. Such actions are a barrier to poverty alleviation and good governance. The purpose of the BFD Anti-Fraud and Anti-Corruption Policy is to provide clear definitions of what we mean by fraud, bribery, and corruption.

Purpose

This policy is aimed at board or committee members, trustees, managers ,employees and volunteers. It is designed to protect BFD from fraud and other financial criminal activities. It highlights some of the risks to which BFD can be vulnerable and provides some practical steps that you can take to reduce and manage these risks.

The purpose of this policy is:

·       To ensure that all parties are aware of their responsibilities for identifying exposures to fraudulent activities and for establishing controls and procedures for preventing such fraudulent activity and/or detecting such fraudulent activity when it occurs.

·       To provide guidance to staff/volunteers/contractors as to action which should be taken where they suspect any fraudulent activity.

·       To provide a clear statement to staff/volunteers/contractors forbidding any illegal activity, including fraud for the benefit of the organization.

·       To provide assurance that any and all suspected fraudulent activity will be fully investigated.

Policy Statement

BFD strongly discourages all facets of fraud and corruption. If fraud has been established and BFD has suffered damages, then the persons who committed the fraud should not obtain any kind of benefit. BFD will recover any losses from all persons that committed the fraud, whether they are BFD employees or not, through a court of law with the appropriate jurisdiction. The following paragraphs define and describe specific policies, measures, and actions to prevent and react to fraud and corruption.

Scope

This policy applies to:

-          BFD’s Board of Trustees.

-          BFD’s team, including salaried staff, volunteers, and interns.

-          Partner organizations, throughout the development of activities that form part of programs or projects carried out in collaboration with BFD

Definition of Fraud

Fraud is used to describe a range of illegal activities. These include, but are not limited to, deception, forgery, theft, the false reporting or concealment of material facts, collusion and corruption (including bribery) and undeclared conflicts of interest Examples of fraud other than bribery, include, but are not limited to:

•        Theft of money, property or assets

•        Inappropriate use of foundation assets

•        Submitting false expense claims

•        Forging, tampering with or falsely creating documents or records

•        Destroying or removing documents or records

•        Knowingly creating or distributing false financial information or reports

•        Engaging in bribery or corruption

•        Deliberately ignoring or acquiescing in fraudulent activity.

 Definition of Corruption

“What is Bribery & Corruption? Bribery and corruption have a range of definitions in law. The following is a plain language guide:

1.       Bribery: The offering, promising, giving, accepting or soliciting of money, gifts or other advantages in exchange for doing something illegal or breaching an employer’s trust.

The following are some examples of attempted bribery:

§  A potential supplier offers money or a gift to influence a procurement/tender process.

§  A job applicant offers payment or a gift to increase his/her chances of being hired.

§  A gift (e.g. excessive hospitality) offered to a local official in return for approving a proposal.

§  A potential or actual beneficiary offers a payment in return for allowing him/her or their family to be given aid to which they are not entitled.

§  A government official asks for a payment to secure an NGO registration.

§  A customs official asks for an unofficial payment or gift to release goods.

2.       Corruption: The abuse of entrusted power or influence for private gain.

Obligations when reporting Fraud

When you discover or suspect Fraud should be take the following steps :

1.       Immediately report your findings or suspicions to the CEO.

2.       Report anonymously and without disclosing the author's identity by “ethics and compliance website page https://www.bfdint.org/ethics-center/ 

3.       Save and provide as much evidence as possible.

 Investigating Fraud suspicions

1.       BFD employs a standard procedure when investigating fraud. This ensures that staff does not act prematurely in Circumstances they do not fully know.

2.       It is the responsibility of the Investigation committee to report to the chairman of board of directors including the following information:

3.       Confirmation of whether a fraud has taken place

4.       The amount of loss involved.

5.       The identity of the person(s) who appear to have committed the fraud, if known.

6.       Identification of any failures on the part of procedures or staff which enabled the fraud to take place.

7.       Identification of any staff who should face disciplinary action.

8.       Recommended lessons to learn for the future and any procedures which need to change to prevent further fraud.

9.       The chairman of the board should form a temporary committee to discuss the case then ensure that the necessary, disciplinary and other actions are taken swiftly.

10.    The implementation of adequate fraud policy guidelines and investigation procedures deserve special attention, as it will facilitate the early stages of a fraud investigation and ensure that any further investigation will not be hampered or obstructed.

11.    Members of staff are not allowed to start their own investigation into a suspected fraud case without prior permission from chairman of board.

Roles and Responsibilities:

1.       The Board of BFD has ultimate responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud and is responsible for ensuring that appropriate and effective internal control systems are in place.

2.       The CEO is responsible for investigating instances of fraud reported to them.

3.       All managers must ensure that there are mechanisms in place within their area of control to:

·       Assess the risk of fraud;

·       Educate employees about fraud prevention and detection; and

·       Facilitate the reporting of suspected fraudulent activities.

4.       All staff/volunteers/contractors share in the responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud in their areas of responsibility.

5.       All staff/volunteers/contractors have the responsibility to report suspected fraud.

6.       Any staff member, volunteer or contractor who suspects fraudulent activity must immediately notify their supervisor or those responsible for investigations.

In situations where the supervisor is suspected of involvement in the fraudulent activity, the matter should be notified to the next highest level of supervision or to the CEO.POLICY BFD will not tolerate fraud in any aspect of its operations.

BFD will investigate any suspected acts of fraud, misappropriation or other similar irregularity. An objective and impartial investigation, as deemed necessary, will be conducted regardless of the position, title, and length of service or relationship with the organization of any party who might be the subject of such investigation.

Any fraud shall constitute grounds for dismissal. Any serious case of fraud, whether suspected or proven, shall be reported to the police. Any person reporting a fraud, or a suspected fraud, shall suffer no penalty in their employment.

Annex A — Corruption Risk Areas

External Risk factors

·       Emergency relief / The time pressure and security context may increase risk.

·       Sector/ The nature of the sector in which BFD works may pose specific risks (e.g. construction, healthcare, water, and forestry).

·       Partners / BFD usually works through partners. Factors that may impact bribery risk include: size/structure/governance of partners; adequacy of partners’ control systems; partner selection processes; partnership contracts and agreements; and partners’ monitoring and support processes; political involvement or connections of partners.

·       Procurement/ Increased risk where processes are not fair or transparent. Procurement is a high-risk area for bribery.

·       Transactions/ Certain transactions may carry higher risk e.g., payments to government officials, major contracts and payments through third parties.

·       Recruitment/ Bribes can be offered or sought as part of recruitment processes.

·       Organizational risk factors/ Existing procedures Risk that existing policies and procedures are not adequate or effective. Legal/prosecution Risks of non-compliance international or local legislation, and subsequent prosecution.

·       Reputation/ Risk of reputational damage following a corruption scandal.

Annex B — Potential Indicators of Corruption

·       Abnormal cash payments

·       Pressure exerted for payments to be made urgently or ahead of schedule

·       Abnormally high commission percentage being paid to a particular agency.

·       This May be split into two accounts for the same agent.

·       Private meetings with public contractors or companies hoping to tender for Contracts.

·       Lavish gifts being received.

·       Individual never takes time off even if ill, or holidays, or insists on dealing with specific contractors him/herself.

·       Making unexpected or illogical decisions accepting projects or contracts.

·       Unusually smooth process of cases where individual does not have the expected level of knowledge or expertise.

·       Abusing decision process or delegated powers in specific cases.

·       Agreeing contracts not favorable to the organization either with terms or time Period.

·       Unexplained preference for certain contractors during tendering period.

·       Raising barriers around specific roles or departments which are key in the Tendering/contracting process.

·       Bypassing normal tendering/contractors’ procedure

·       Invoices being agreed in excess of contract without reasonable cause

·       Missing documents or records regarding meetings or decisions

·       Company procedures or guidelines not being followed

·       The payment of or making funds available for, high value expenses etc. on behalf of others