How we can help

We help multinational companies manage corruption, sanctions and human rights risks with clear, practical solutions grounded in decades of global in‑house compliance practice and leadership. Operating across jurisdictions, cultures and regulatory expectations creates complexity — but a calibrated, risk‑based approach based on legal expertise and cultural understanding can enable your compliance program to protect value, strengthen trust and provide confidence to operate and pursue growth opportunities in higher risk environments.

The challenge for global companies

Risk exposures are multiplying across countries, cultural contexts, partners and supply chains.

Compliance teams face resourcing pressures at the same time as rising business integrity expectations from Boards, regulators, investors and stakeholders.

Business units are often incentivised to pursue growth in high-risk markets – for Compliance teams, building credibility and earning “a seat at the table” is crucial for the success of your compliance program.

Technology is transforming compliance — but poorly-designed systems can erode budgets, overwhelm teams and undermine credibility.

Our experience

At Robinson White, we have decades of senior in‑house experience running global compliance programs for major multinationals in sectors exposed to corruption, sanctions, export controls and human‑rights risks. We know what strong, credible, operationally realistic compliance looks like — because we have successfully built and led these programs inside complex, global companies with deep commitments to business ethics.

Where we add value

Our support includes:

• Global and local risk assessments to identify where real exposure lies and enable risk‑weighted mitigation and smarter allocation of resources
• Strategic compliance advisory, including program design, governance, accountabilities, metrics and Board engagement
• Targeted hot‑spot reviews of specific business units, suppliers, partners or in‑country operations
• Integration support for mergers and acquisitions, addressing cultural, systems and control gaps early
• Technology oversight, helping ensure compliance systems and AI tools are calibrated to real‑world risk and enforcement expectations
• Practical solutions for high‑risk challenges, including corruption pressures, sanctions exposure and human‑rights issues in supply chains
• Joint‑venture governance support, particularly where oversight and influence are constrained
• Speak‑up channels and investigations, including trusted reporting lines and proportionate, value‑adding investigations focused on root causes and remediation

Our approach is practical, proportionate and grounded in operational reality — helping organisations protect value, strengthen trust and operate with confidence in high‑risk environments. 

Protecting your business from corruption, sanctions and human rights risks isn’t just about complying with the law — it’s about safeguarding the long‑term commercial value you are building. For growing companies, a single misstep can quickly escalate into an existential threat. We know your time and resources are limited and we’re focused on helping you stay ahead of these risks with practical, cost‑effective solutions shaped by our decades of real‑world, in‑house experience advising companies investing and operating in high-risk places.

Why managing these risks matters

• Corruption can trap businesses in cycles of extortion, creating risks to your people, draining resources and stalling growth.
• Governments can cancel permits and licences or seize assets when corrupt conduct is uncovered, seriously eroding value.
• Corruption, sanctions breaches or human‑rights violations can destroy trust with partners, investors, customers, local communities and regulators.
• The investors and lenders that you need for growth increasingly expect credible management of business ethics risks, especially in high‑risk markets.
• Effective risk management supports your brand, protects the long‑term value of your business and strengthens your investment case.

How we help

• Right-sized risk assessments - We deploy our deep experience to identify where your real exposure lies and help you prioritise effort where it will have the biggest impact — without unnecessary complexity.
• Practical compliance foundations - We help you put in place essential, proportionate measures to manage corruption, sanctions and human‑rights risks. Simple, clear controls that employees can actually implement.
• Support to overcome challenges and pursue opportunities in high-risk environments - If you face corrupt demands or networks, permitting delays, local government pressure or human rights challenges, we provide practical support based on decades of experience resolving similar issues in over 50 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas.  If you’re trading in markets that are subject to today’s volatile trade sanctions risks, we work with your team to develop practical, risk-based mitigating measures, drawing on our experience managing these risks for companies that operate globally.
• Investor & lender readiness - We understand what major investors, lenders and multinational partners look for when assessing companies in high‑risk markets. We help you meet those expectations and build your credibility, strengthening competitive advantage by demonstrating your ability to preserve and grow value for the long term.

When business integrity concerns surface, the way an organisation responds can either protect value or create new risks. At Robinson White, we bring decades of senior in‑house experience leading complex business integrity investigations for multinational companies in sectors exposed to heightened integrity risks. We help you respond proportionately, credibly and strategically — without unneccessary disruption to the business or overwhelming stakeholders.

The role of investigations

• A well‑run investigation strengthens culture, builds trust, reveals root causes of any misconduct to prevent re-occurrence and, where relevant, supports optimal regulatory enforcement outcomes.
• A poorly executed one damages credibility, distracts senior leaders, unduly impacts those involved and exposes the organisation to regulatory, legal and reputational harm.
• Leadership must strike a balance between rigour and proportionality — we help you find that balance.
• Our focus is optimising value and minimising risk – investigation outcomes delivered proportionately, promptly and with sensitivity, and an overall approach to business ethics concerns that provides insight into underlying drivers and areas of risk, so that these can be considered and effectively addressed.

Our unique position

We specialise in complex business integrity investigations, combining legal expertise with deep operational insight and lived experience overseeing investigations functions that handle up to thousands of reports each year. 

We understand the concerns of senior executives and boards in relation to business integrity investigations and the value investigations can create, because we’ve presented outcomes and led those discussions in major companies over many years.

We collaborate seamlessly with forensic accounting and investigations firms, internal or other external legal teams, internal functions and other relevant specialists. We work in partnership with other providers, recognising the value of specialist skills while providing proportionate legal advice and input, helping clients to understand issues and optimise their response. 

How we help

• Focused - high value scoping: We quickly prioritise investigative workstreams, ensuring that efforts target finding the facts and insights that matter most for identifying and stopping illegal or unethical conduct, remediating root causes and preparing for any regulatory engagement.
• Strategic response: Drawing on years of experience leading global investigation teams, we help you design response mechanisms that turn investigations into sources of cultural insight and early‑warning indicators of emerging risks. We design mechanisms that comply with whistleblower protection laws.
• Cultural intelligence in sensitive matters: We understand the importance of tailoring investigation strategies to unique contexts and cultures. We have adopted specific approaches to prevent retaliation against vulnerable individuals when investigating human‑rights concerns and have overseen development of human-centric approaches and alternative response mechanisms for critical but sensitive issues in global companies.
• Regulatory & enforcement agency engagement: We advise on constructive, credible engagement with regulators and enforcement agencies where appropriate. We have presented response mechanisms, investigation outcomes and remediation plans to these agencies and at public inquiries. Our advice is informed by our experience engaging with these agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, Securities & Exchange Commission, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of Commerce; the U.K. Serious Fraud Office; and Australian agencies including the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

What you can expect

• Calm, senior oversight that protects long‑term organisational interests 
• Focused execution — answering the critical questions first 
• Insight into contextual and root‑cause drivers that need to be addressed to prevent recurrence 
• Practical, risk‑aligned lessons learned and remediation pathways