Johannesburg, 26 October 2009 - Pasco Risk Management, a global risk consultancy with an established head office in South Africa and operations in the UK, USA and India, has been awarded a contract by a large United States (U.S.) independent fraud risk management firm on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The contract is for due diligence investigations to be carried out on U.S. companies operating in more than 25 countries in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa. The value of the contract for the first two months alone (November 2009 and December 2009) is anticipated to net several million Rand for the company and due to the magnitude of the project it seems probable the contract will take approximately 18 months to complete.

The U.S. Department of Justice issued this contract based on the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Activities Act (FCPA), which prohibits U.S. citizens and certain foreign issuers of security from making corrupt payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. The Act also applies to foreign firms and persons who take any action in furthering a fraudulent payment while in the United States. The FCPA also requires that companies whose securities are listed in the U.S. meet its accounting provisions, including making and keeping records that accurately reflect the transactions of the corporation and to institute and maintain an adequate internal accounting controls system.

According to George Nicholls, Pasco CEO, “the growth of new markets as well as the vast sum of money involved in global transactions and in this case international legislation have added to the prospect of risk associated with operating in less established markets. A contract of this magnitude being awarded to a consultancy with its headquarters based in South Africa is a sign of the confidence we have built in the global market and our recognised ability to compete with international competitors.”

Since September 2009, Pasco has been working with U.S based firms to help their clients deal with the provisions set out in the Act especially in the emerging and frontier markets where Pasco has in-depth experience and established networks in dealing with the challenges of these regions.

About Pasco

Pasco Risk Management, a highly specialised global risk consultancy with an established head office in South Africa and operations in the UK, USA and India, is a multi-million dollar turnover company, which provides professional advisory, business intelligence, forensic and security services to global, blue chip corporations in high risk environments. Pasco competes with major international risk consulting firms in numerous industry sectors including; mining, pharmaceuticals, aerospace & defence, financial services, telecoms, construction & real estate and commerce. Royal Bafokeng Holdings holds a 27% stake in Pasco.