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Alex Haines and Camila Zapata Besso successful in Multilateral Development Bank Ethics Investigations Case

Alex Haines (Outer Temple Chambers) and Camila Zapata Besso (Doughty Street Chambers) successfully represented an individual in an international disciplinary case of alleged misconduct brought by the Ethics Office of the Inter-American Development Bank (‘IADB’), a regional Multilateral Development Bank and International Financial Institution headquartered in Washington DC.

The mandate of the IADB’s Office of Institutional Integrity is limited to investigating external parties only.  For former Bank staff members (such as the client in this case), however, the Ethics Office has jurisdiction to investigate and bring cases of alleged misconduct.  Two and a half years after he was originally interviewed by the IADB’s Office of Institutional Integrity and the Ethics Office, and following detailed written representations made by Alex and Camila earlier this Summer, the IADB’s Chief Ethics Officer reviewed the Investigation Report and determined that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding of the following heads of allegation: conflict of interest, financial conflict, subsequent employment, procurement and contracting, corruption as a source of conflict, disclosure of conflict of interest and appropriate use of information.  All the complaints were dismissed.

The IADB is the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean. Established in 1959, the IADB supports Latin American and Caribbean economic development, social development and regional integration by lending to governments and government agencies, including State corporations. The IADB has four official languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. Most of the documentation in this disciplinary case was in Spanish.

Find out more

Alex Haines is called to both the English and Irish Bars and is a US-qualified attorney admitted to the NY Bar. He is a dual national, fluent in French and Spanish, specialist in international law and sanctions with rare expertise in international organisations law. He was appointed to the Attorney General’s London B Panel in 2019 and as Sanctions Officer at the Caribbean Development Bank in 2020. The cases he has been instructed in have involved more than 35 International Organisations including the EIB, World Bank Group, IMF, NATO and UN (including its specialised agencies and funds). He is ranked in Chambers and Partners for Sanctions and Legal 500 for Business and Regulatory Crime (including global investigations).

To find out more, contact Sam Carter on +44 (0)203 989 6669 or Colin Bunyan on +44 (0)20 7427 4886 for a confidential discussion.

News 30 Nov, 2022

Authors

Alex Haines

Call: 2007 (England & Wales); 2019 (New York); 2020 (Ireland); and 2024 (District of Columbia)

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