Annual Conference on whistleblowing, White-Collar Crime and Corporate Fraud in Romania 2023
March 1, 2023 - Bucharest
The 5th annual edition of the Romanian White Collar Crime & Corporate Fraud Conference features presentations on how to identify, detect and manage risks related to fraudulent activities in companies.
Corporate fraud in its various forms is on the rise and the fight against fraud gains new facets every year.
As companies see the benefits of taking a proactive approach to fraud risk management, the focus on implementing anti-fraud compliance programmes can ensure that appropriate resources are committed to risk management and an organisation’s focus remains on the areas where fraud could surface.
Proactively addressing fraud will remain critical for organisations to address the impacts fraud could have on commercial activities.
Join us on March 1st to find why is important to drive corporate culture and find ways to proactively identifying fraud risk.
This event is addressed to the executive management with a focus on corporate governance and compliance areas.
Registration conditions: The program and the speakers are subject to change. Should the conference be cancelled due to force majeure, unavailability of the conference venue, speakers being prevented or for other good cause, the organizer reserves the right to cancel the conference.
Participation fee return policy:
- if the request for cancellation is made up to 45 calendar days before the event, the amount paid will be returned in full;
- if the request for cancellation is made up to 30 calendar days before the event, 70% of the amount paid is returned;
- if the request for cancellation is made up to 15 calendar days before the event, 50% of the amount paid is returned;
- if the request for cancellation is made less than 7 days before the event, the amount paid will not be returned.
Data protection and sharing of contact details
The Conference Organizer will collect and store your personal datafor the preparation and execution of the conference as well as to inform you about future projects related to your sector and line of work. Your contact data will only be passed on to partners directly involved in the conference organization process as partners for follow-up purposes. If you have any questions about our privacy policy and the processing of your e-mail and related personal data, do not hesitate to write us at sales@govnet.ro
09:00 - 09:30 |
Participants Registration
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09:30 - 10:30 |
First Session
Key Trends in Fraud & Corporate Compliance in Romania
Topic: Overview of corporate fraud and its prevention approach
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10:30 - 12:00 |
Second Session
The impact of the Whistleblowing Law
Topic: Pre-recorded intervention on whistleblowing
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12:00 - 12:30 |
Session Break
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12:30 - 14:30 |
Third Session
Practical Compliance Insights from the Frontlines - How To Mitigate Risk
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14:30 - 15:30 |
Networking Lunch
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Mr. Adrian Cucu has more than 25 years of experience in the senior management of public institutions whose main object of activity is combating financial fraud, tax evasion, preventing and combating money laundering, as well as carrying out control actions in these areas, occupying various important functions, including: President of the National Office for the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering, Director General of the General Directorate of Fiscal Inspection (ANAF); Director General of the General Directorate for the Administration of Large Taxpayers (ANAF); Secretary General of the National Fiscal Administration Agency; Deputy General Secretary in the Ministry of Finance; Director of the Control Department within the ASF; General Commissioner of the Financial Guard, etc.

Mr. Furdui heads the Crime Prevention Department of the Romanian Ministry of Justice, capacity in which he also manages the Technical Secretariat of the National Anticorruption Strategy and chairs the cooperation platforms organized in the framework of the Strategy, including the platform for cooperation with the business environment.

Over 17 years of experience in fraud risk management, internal control and audit, Ramona started her career in the bank, in the commercial area, carrying out her activity on control and anti-fraud audit areas, with coordination attributions. She is currently Deputy Director of the Anti-Fraud and Control Department at CEC Bank SA and Vice-President of the Anti-Fraud Commission within the Romanian Association of Banks
Graduate of the Law Faculty Alexandru Ioan Cuza from Iasi, and of the Romanian Banking Institute, but also of the two Masters, in Criminal Sciences at Titu Maiorescu University and Public Integrity and Anti-corruption Policies at the National School of Political Sciences, Bucharest, holding certifications in the field of CFE fraud, as well as in compliance, accredited trainer, and an MBA program in progress - INDE Romanian - French MBA in the Economic Development of Enterprises, organized by ASE's Bucharest Business School and the National Institute for Economic Development (INDE), in partnership with the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (CNAM) in Paris.

Paul Herinean worked between 2010 and 2015 as a Specialist Instructing Officer, coordinator of scientific papers in Humint, Relationship Techniques and Simulated Behavior Detection Techniques at the National Academy of Intelligence "Mihai Viteazul" (ANI) - S.R.I. and is a certified Trainer in Simulated Behavior Detection.
Between 2000 and 2009 he worked as an Operational Officer within the Romanian Intelligence Service. From 2009 to 2010 he worked as a Specialist Officer in the Personnel Recruitment Department within ANI. In the period 2012-2014 he coordinated a scientific research project carried out under the auspices of S.R.I. and the National Institute for Intelligence Studies, which aimed to conceptualize and operationalize practical tools for developing skills and competencies to detect simulated behavior in the area of Intelligence - Humint.
Starting with 2012, he offers consultancy to multinational companies in Romania, in his area of expertise.

Stephen M. Kohn is one of the nation’s leading whistleblower attorneys. A founding director of the NWC, he is the author of eight books on whistleblower law, including The New Whistleblower’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing What’s Right and Protecting Yourself .
He is a practicing whistleblower attorney and serves pro bono as the Chairman of the Board of the National Whistleblower Center. Stephen is a partner in the whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto. His primary litigation focus includes representing international whistleblowers under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, tax fraud whistleblowers, qui tam reward laws, the False Claims Act, SEC whistleblowers and IRS whistleblowers. In 2012, the firm obtained the largest qui tam whistleblower reward given to a single individual in history ($104 million to UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld) and he represents Danske Bank Whistleblower Howard Wilkinson.

Bogdan has a degree in Law and one in Political Science from University of Bucharest. He owns a Master Degree in Corporate Affairs and Governance from Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, State University of New York and the certification “International Diploma in Compliance” from University of Manchester. Currently, he follows a PhD program in compliance at Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies. He is the Deputy Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee of American Chamber of Commerce in Romania.
Bogdan has an extensive experience in compliance and corporate governance gained in multinational companies like Ubisoft Entertainment, Telekom, OMV Petrom or F.Hoffmann La Roche. During 2011 – 2015, Bogdan was Compliance Officer at OMV Petrom, responsible for Corporate Functions Division and Gas & Power Division. In 2014, he was co-author of the first book on compliance published in Romania, “Compliance – the key of a successful business”, coordinated by University Professor, dr. Mihai Berinde.
In 2022, Bogdan joined the company Sun Wave Pharma as Compliance Director. He is responsible for implementing the compliance program and through it, to produce added value to the business of the number one company on supplements in Romania.
He was involved in many activities regarding compliance and corporate governance in AMCham (Guideline on third parties due diligence, Guideline on Compliance Training, Guideline on the role of the compliance Officer, Guideline on Risk Assessment). They were presented to the Ministry of Justice Department responsible for implementing the national anti-corruption strategy and contributing to increasing the knowledge on compliance and ethics topics.

Alexandru Ene-Dragan has extensive experience in process management and strategic mandate execution, especially in civil law, commercial law, labor law and real estate law disputes, as well as in insolvency procedures and white collar crime. He coordinates also the compliance practice, having experience in implementing and developing compliance programs, planning and structuring internal investigations, as well as providing prevention programs and trainings

Highly regarded by clients and peers as one of the brightest white collar crime attorneys in Romania, Mihai Mareș specializes exclusively on criminal defence for senior executives, entrepreneurs, major industrial groups, financial institutions and large international and domestic companies. His expertise covers a broad range of matters involving money laundering, fraud, bribery and other forms of corporate misconduct.
With a Ph.D. in criminal procedure from the Romanian Academy’s Legal Institute, Mihai regularly publishes articles and studies on criminal law and criminal procedure and participates in international and national conferences related to these fields. Moreover, Mihai Mares is a guest lecturer in the criminal law master program at the Moldova State University Law School, as part of the partnership with this institution concluded last year. As of this year, he is also the co-founder, together with other esteemed peers, of the Romanian White Collar Crime Law Association (ARDPA), which aims at promoting and developing this discipline as a "hybrid" legal field - the meeting point between white collar crime and other areas of practice in business law. Mihai’s practice, experience and exposure to sophisticated cases make him an invaluable asset when collaborating with prominent international law firms and global alliances specialized in white collar crime.

Ana Sebov is Director and Forensic Services Leader of PwC Romania. She has more than 19 years of experience in accounting and finance, at local and international level, in multiple industries (ie., energy, pharma, financial services, retail, telecommunications, manufacturing). Since 2007 she specialised in forensic accounting and compliance reviews.
The projects coordinated by Ana included large investigations of bribery and fraud cases, advisory provided to clients in the context of regulatory investigations, AML and anti bribery compliance reviews and drafting of expert reports in the context of arbitration, litigation and regulatory investigations.
Ana has a Bachelor in Business Administration from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, is a qualified accountant (ACCA), qualified financial auditor (ASPAS), qualified fraud examiner (ACFE) and qualified internal auditor (CIA)

Oana Piticaş has extensive experience in criminal law, business crimes, criminal liability and criminal defence strategy, especially with foreign and local companies, but also in real estate and contract law. She specializes in legal assistance and representation of local or foreign companies in all stages of a criminal investigation, internal and fraud investigations, compliance and dawn raid.

Gabriel Zgunea has a vast experience in the field of private intelligence, having successfully coordinated numerous investigations and due diligences in Romania and CEE, for multinational companies in all industries.

Gabriel Albu has a solid and diverse experience related to the corporate field, assisting and representing a large number of companies - multinational and local - and also individuals within them, in complex criminal proceedings, under national jurisdiction and also with international elements.
Since 2005 Gabriel has begun the practice of criminal business law / white collar crime. Starting with 2008, in an independent environment, Gabriel has dedicated himself to this field of activity, being one of the pioneers of this field of professional practice in Romania - white collar crime, practiced at the professional level of sophistication to which it is understood today.
Over the years, Gabriel Albu has been involved in a large number of high-level criminal cases in Romania. He managed complex cases, at the highest level of representation, involving mainly accusations of tax evasion and fraud against the financial interests of the European Union, accusations of corruption, financial fraud, work related crimes, capital market and public procurement fraud.
The most recent success achieved by Gabriel Albu was the case publicly known as "Rompetrol II", where his team managed to obtain the dismissal of the criminal charges and release of significant assets from under freezing orders.

Maria has been based in Spain for over a decade and represents Whistlelink in Iberia, Romania and Bulgaria, developing strategic partnerships with law firms and helping companies implement a compliant, safe and user-friendly whistleblowing solution. She has over 15 years’ experience in developing partnerships across borders and supporting clients and businesses in several industries. Whistlelink is an ISO 27001 certified Swedish tech company, offering organisations a safe technology in compliance with the Whistleblowing Directive to help them improve social responsibility and remove hurdles from reporting of wrongdoing.

Mihaela Scarlatescu, is a lawyer with 23 years professional experience, of which 18 dedicated to the pharmaceutical industry in an integral way - from the drug manufacturer (even from the factory), to the distributor and not lastly the experience dedicated to the chain pharmacies (national level) thus ensuring a complete connection of the patient but the medication he needs.
She currently holds the position of HoL &Compliance Director at Farmexim-Help Net part of PHOENIX Group.
She was awarded 3 consecutive times by the prestigious publishing guide Legal 500, being nominated in the first 10 lawyers in the pharma industry, including as a team (2016-2018), and in December last year she was awarded by the Publishing Houseuniversuyl Juridic within the Lady Layer Gala.
Actually enrolled in 2021 an EMBA program at Maastricht University

Adrian CHIRVASE is coordinating Prevention, Compliance and White-Collar Crime team, being well-known for his comprehensive approach in difficult cases. He has significant experience in criminal business law and tax fraud, representing numerous companies in various criminal proceedings or businessmen in various fields such as IT and Telecommunications, banking, pharmaceutical, real estate, construction, energy and public utilities.
In this capacity, Adrian is acting on behalf of or alongside clients in all types of disputes, including white-collar crime, financial fraud, corruption, economic espionage, cyber- and e-Commerce crime, organized crime, abuse of power and negligence in official positions, money laundering, criminal breaches of confidentiality/secrecy, intellectual and industrial property criminal infringements, etc. Also, Adrian’s practice includes the prevention component, which involves advisory activities in order to anticipate and/or identify risks of criminal relevance.

Albu Morar, previously Albu Legal, are boutique law offices, specialized in white-collar crime, criminal and administrative prevention, internal and anti-fraud investigations, human rights protection procedures, defense of the crime victims’ rights, as well as in any related litigation and non-contentious issues.
Albu Morar's clientele mostly consists of companies, with international corporations making up its largest share, but also prominent business persons. The main practice is and will continue to be providing defense and representation in criminal proceedings, representing companies and businesspersons both before criminal prosecution bodies (particularly specialized prosecutor's offices like DNA and DIICOT), and before the courts. Also, Albu Morar provides advisory services for the prevention of criminal law risk, internal affairs and forensic investigation services, as well as legal assistance in relation to regulatory authorities (for example, the National Agency for Tax Administration – ANAF, the National Office for Prevention and Control of Money Laundering – ONPCSB, the European Anti-Fraud Office – OLAF and its Romanian counterpart DLAF etc.).
Albu Morar is now developing its services with formulating legal points of view and opinions in areas of specialization such as: constitutional law, protection of human rights, criminal law and criminal procedure. Albu Morar team comprises attorneys cumulating over 60 years of professional experience, assisted over 1,000 satisfied clients and accounts for more than 1 billion euros saved.
Due to its exposure to high-level clientele and sophisticated and many times cross-border matters, Albu Morar has significant experience in various types of international cooperation and litigation procedures.

Mareș & Mareș is a leading Romanian law firm specialized in white-collar crime, with a secondary focus on civil litigation. The firm provides cutting edge services to a diverse client portfolio, including multinational and local companies, senior management, high-profile politicians, entrepreneurs, both in Romania and abroad.
The firm covers all areas of criminal law connected with anti-bribery and corruption, money laundering, bankruptcy, embezzlement, tax fraud, organized crime groups and investigations, as well as the subsequent related areas of civil litigation and asset recovery. Established in 2006, Mareș & Mareș has evolved constantly, becoming a market leader in the field of white collar crime and having formed a new generation of talented lawyers in this area.
Mareș & Mareș is also an active member of several leading associations: The ROXIN Alliance (member of the World Bank’s Global Forum for Law, Justice and Development), The American Bar Association, The European Criminal Bar Association, The International Bar Association, Global Criminal Law Counsel (GCLC).

Noerr stands for excellence and an entrepreneurial approach. With highly experienced teams of strong characters, Noerr devises and implements solutions for the most complex and sophisticated legal challenges. United by a set of shared values, the firm’s 500+ professionals are driven by one goal: our client’s success. As one of the leading European law firms, Noerr is also internationally renowned with offices in ten countries and a global network of top-ranked “best friends” law firms.

Corporate Intelligence Agency is one of the top leading business and competitive intelligence companies in Romania, providing its partners with integrated services dedicated to securing the business, reducing risks or eliminating vulnerabilities that may occur. Whether it's valuable information, different types of fraud, managing risks and current or occasional threats, regardless of our partner's profile, the company will try to offer integrated Business and Corporate Intelligence solutions, actively contributing to the successful achievement of the client's goals.

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 152 countries with over 328,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services.
Present in Romania since 1991, PwC is one of the leading consulting firms on the local market, with a team of 22 partners coordinating more than 800 professionals in Romania and the Republic of Moldova.
PwC Romania offers a full range of consulting services to local and multinational companies and public institutions. The company's activity is divided into three main pillars: financial audit and non-audit services, business and management consulting, tax and legal consulting."

POPESCU & ASOCIATII is an independent law firm delivering premium services for premium clients, both in Romania and abroad. The team, comprising highly experienced attorneys and counsellors, with more than 40 years of experience on the legal market, was swiftly confirmed and recognized for its impressive capabilities in the field by the local and international market - peers, clients and publications - acting as reliable legal and business advisors for companies facing intricate and sensitive legal matters, both in the legal consultancy and litigation/white-collar crime legal matters.
The services provided by POPESCU & ASOCIATII include also consultancy and prevention of white-collar crime matters (such as preparing legal analyses, opinions or memoranda on different criminal law and criminal procedural law issues; assisting and representing our clients in different extrajudicial procedures, in order to avoid criminal implications or complex risks; preparing and concluding high-profile civil transactions, to amicably settle civil damages claims within criminal law procedures) and also representation and assistance in criminal litigations (during the criminal investigation phase or the court trial).

Sun Wave Pharma is the no. 1 company in nutraceuticals and food supplements in Romania and it was the consistent market leader over the last 7 years. It has an innovative marketing concept through doctors’ promotion based on an internally developed unique portfolio. The company cover the gaps of conventional therapy and is active in nine therapeutical areas. All products are checked for efficacy and safety, and this made us a leader in the industry. We are proud to be the fastest growing pharma company in Romania and to be a target for top talents. Sun Wave Pharma has the largest medical promotion team in Romania and aims to be the no. 1 nutraceutical company is Eastern Europe. We recently extended our business in Bulgaria, Moldova and Serbia, other countries following in the coming years.

Whistlelink is a Swedish tech company offering a web-based whistleblowing solution to companies and organizations. Our ambition is to provide the most user-friendly whistleblowing system in the world, as we understand the significant impact a simple and safe whistleblowing channel has on individuals, organizations and the society at large. Whistlelink aspires to be viewed as the local option in all countries and we make our system available in 35+ languages and host it in Europe. The company is ISO 27001 certified for Information security management.
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