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06 Apr 2023
GWCI Annual Round-Up for 2022-2023

A big thank you to all of our clients and partners who have supported us over the last 12 months, we would not be here today without your support!

I have attached our latest newsletter (download below) rounding up the last year with some of our achievements and plans for the future.

Graham Welland ...

GWCI Annual Round-Up for 2022-2023

Country Review: Brazil

Brazil is a Federative Republic composed of 26 states and the federal district. The Republic is led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who serves as head of state and head of government. Its legal system is based on the Brazilian Constitution, adopted since 1988.

The Treaty of Tor ...

26 Jan 2023
China’s Military Campaigns and Human Rights Abuses Are Aided by British Universities, Study

British Universities have long since been overly reliant on China for money. Today, over 140,000 Chinese students are studying in Britain, a greater number than any other country. This has resulted in some institutions relying on China for a quarter of all income from fees.

Whilst this has bo ...

24 Jan 2023
Protecting Your Business from Fraud: The Need for Due Diligence

For individuals and organisations wishing to carry out business with another party, especially overseas, there is always an element of risk.

To protect their brand reputation and assets, we consider it best practice for organisations of all sizes and sectors to carry out enhanced due diligence ...

12 May 2022
GWCI Achieves ISO 27001 Accreditation

GWCI is very excited to announce that it has achieved the prestigious ISO 27001 accreditation.

The accreditation was issued by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), a world renowned and British government recognised national accreditation body. ISO 27001 is one of many UKAS accredited sta ...

05 Apr 2022
Is Money Laundering, Once The Bedrock of the Cayman's Economy, No Longer An issue?

The Cayman Islands were colonised by the British in the 18th century and post 1863, administered by Jamaica. The year 1959 saw the islands become a territory within the Federation of the West Indies.

In 1962, when the Federation dismantled, the Cayman Islands separated from Jamaica and chose to rema ...

13 Mar 2022
Enhanced Due Diligence - An Essential Part of Your Compliance Programme.

Enhanced Due Diligence ("EDD") is an integral part of the Know Your Customer ("KYC") process, providing high level risk analysis on clients as well as on potential business partners.

In order to protect your business from financial and reputational damage, some level of KYC should be carried o ...

28 Feb 2022
ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) the buzz word for 2022

ESG, an abbreviation of the words Environmental, Social and Governance, refers to three fundamental factors in assessing corporate sustainability.

ESG has driven investment decisions for decades, however, the term was first coined in 2005 by the United Nations Environment Programme Initiative.

Today ...

16 Feb 2022
Establishing a company’s Ultimate Owner - does it need doing?

If you want to know who you are trading with, then understanding who the ultimate owner of any company is absolutely key as they are the ultimate beneficiaries and have ultimate control.

Establishing who the ultimate owner is can be challenging, particularly where multi-national companies are involv ...

03 Feb 2022
Does better compliance save you money?

Compliance, defined as “the state of meeting rules or standards”, helps businesses operate within the boundaries of the law.

In practice, understanding how compliant you are allows you to foresee any areas of concern and mitigate them or at the very least have a plan of action in place s ...

26 Jan 2022
There are more people in slavery today than at any time in human history!

(warns investment management firm, CCLA).

CCLA Investment Management, an organisation which manages investments for charities, religious organisations, and the public sector, has warned in its 2020 Find It, Fix It, Prevent It report that “modern slavery and human trafficking are big busin ...

30 Jun 2021
Why Thinking Proactively is key to Side-Stepping Risks to Your Business

Proactively assessing risk is an everyday aspect of life. Whether it be looking left and right when crossing a busy road or putting a seatbelt on before we set off in the car. Risk analysis is a natural part of what makes us human, and it is something that we do on a daily basis – even ...

23 Apr 2021
Warning on Growing Fraud Risk

A Stratford-upon-Avon global risk and compliance specialist has warned exporters to take every step they can to minimise the growing risk of fraud. GWCI chief executive Graham Welland (pictured) was speaking in the aftermath of a bizarre multi million-pound fraud case involving $36m worth ...

15 Jul 2020
South Sudan: the newest country in the world

The Republic of South Sudan is one of the world’s newest countries and cannot be described as having an auspicious start to life. It was born on 9th July 2011 as a result of an agreement in 2005, which ended Africa’s longest-running civil war. Comprised of over 60 major ethnic groups and ...

15 Jun 2020
UN Intervention wins some peace for Central African Republic

The Central African Republic is one of the poorest countries on the planet. Its present problems appeared following the overthrowing in 2013 of the then president, Francois Bozize, a Christian, by the Seleka, a predominantly Muslim militia. From that moment, the nation plunged into a bloody spiral, ...

15 Feb 2020
Burundi: Poor with endemic ethnic violence

In 2019, a UN Commission accused the government in Burundi of human rights abuses, including executions, arbitrary arrests, torture and sexual violence. The state responded by calling the allegations, “lies”. In the same year it banned the BBC from operating in the country. Very few priv ...

15 Dec 2019
Uganda: a troubled history

Uganda is one of Africa’s most corrupt countries. In highest risk civil sectors are the police, the judiciary and public procurement. As with many countries both in the region and around the world, the legal framework used to deal with corruption is superficially strong.

The core of that framew ...

15 Oct 2019
Will peace persist in the Congo?

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) is unusually peaceful at the present time, having emerged from a war on a scale described as "Africa's World War," in which six million people were killed. It is 905,354 square miles big, with 81.5 million people, who speak five major languages: French ...

15 Jun 2019
Zambia: Political Stability Hasn't Solved Major Problems

Zambia made a peaceful transition to independence from British colonial rule, in 1964. Its first post-colonial leader, Kenneth Kaunda, led the country for three decades, during which time although the country suffered terrible economic hardship, he became a giant on the African stage. Then, as now, ...

15 Aug 2018
Landmark Legislation: the UK's Bribery Act 2010

The UK's Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1st July 2011. It is widely regarded as the strictest anti-corruption law in the world. It focuses on bribery only. Other so-called white collar crimes are dealt with by different legislation. The landmark point is that an organisation will be criminally ...