BBVA, ExxonMobil, Avianca, and 15 Other Companies Praised for Anti-Corruption Efforts by Colombian Government

Early this year, the Colombian government added 18 companies to its list of those deemed “active” in the nation’s ongoing fight against corruption.

The firms included both domestic and foreign firms, including the likes of leading Colombian airline Avianca, Bogotá energy provider Grupo Energía Bogotá, Spanish banking giant BBVA, and the local arms of multinational liquor distributor Diageo, oil titan ExxonMobil, and South African mining company Anglogold Ashanti.

The companies made the list following an evaluation, the third made by executive branch’s Secretariat of Transparency of the Presidency, of 33 large companies operating in Colombia that applied for the review.

Each was scrutinized in 10 different categories, including their internal controls, accounting records, compliance programs, corruption prevention procedures, and programs governing organizational behavior and norms when it comes to political contributions, gift giving, expense tracking, and conflicts of interest.

“The private sector is jointly responsible in the fight against corruption,” said Gabriel Cifuentes, Colombian secretary of transparency. “The initiative starts from this principle. No company with operations in Colombia should remain outside of what should be understood as a country goal: to end corruption, one of the worst forms of violence.”

The full list of companies added to the list is as follows:

1. ABB Ltda.
2. Abbott Laboratories Colombia S.A.
3. Anglogold Ashanti Colombia S.A.
4. Avianca S.A.
5. BBVA
6. Bayer S.A.
7. Comfandi
8. Corona Industrial S.A.S.
9. Diageo Colombia S.A.
10. Ecodiesel Colombia S.A.
11. ExxonMobil Exploration Colombia Limited
12. Grupo Energía Bogotá S.A. E.S.P.
13. Grupo Nutresa S.A.
14. Henkel Colombiana S.A.S.
15. Hocol S.A.
16. Lafrancol S.A.S
17. Mansarovar Energy Colombia Limited
18. Une EPM Telecomunicaciones S.A.

(Photo credit: Brian Katt)