REWE Group Sends Clear Signal with Its Anti-Corruption System

Cologne, 02.05.07

Caparros: "Prevention is the best way to fight corruption" - Attorney Dr. Rainer Buchert named as ombudsman

Cologne-based REWE Group has sent a clear signal in favour of combating growing white-collar crime by introducing a professional anti-corruption system. "As a leading trading and travel firm in Europe, we are not only applying the German Corporate Governance Code and the rules of the German Federal Stock Corporation Act, we are also sending a clear signal to all our employees, business partners, and customers in Germany and abroad: Our company will offer no space for corruption or other criminal activities," said Alain Caparros, CEO of REWE Group, on Wednesday, May 2, in Cologne. Cases of corruption in the business community that had recently received public attention have made it obvious that hardly any company could consider itself immune. Even if only 1.4 per cent of all felonies registered by German police could be counted as white-collar crimes, these accounted for half of all damages caused by crimes reported to police. Damages attributed to corruption in Germany alone are estimated at between 50 and 100 billion euros per year. "The culture of integrity, honesty, and transparency which REWE aims to stand for today and in the future is the best means of countering any kind of corruption and criminal behaviour," Caparros added. Modern risk management also necessitates a preventive anti-corruption system.

Key components of the new anti-corruption system at REWE Group are the internal code of conduct for all managers and employees and the appointment of an Anti-Corruption Officer. A key external component is the "advocate of trust": an ombudsman. REWE Group has named Dr. Rainer Buchert to serve in this post. Buchert made a name for himself as an attorney in Frankfurt, where he advised companies on preventing white-collar crime with an emphasis on combating corruption and where he served as the ombudsman for major firms such as Deutsche Bahn AG, Volkswagen AG, and O2 Germany. Prior to this, he had served as senior detective at the Wiesbaden branch of the German Federal Office of Criminal Investigation, head of the Saxony-Anhalt criminal investigation department and the chief of police for Offenbach city and district.

In serving as the REWE Group Ombudsman, Dr. Rainer Buchert (www.ombudsmann-gegen-korruption.de) will receive confidential reports of corruption or other criminal activities associated with the firm. Protection against negative pressures and retribution for those who report such cases is guaranteed in every way. Contributing to this guarantee are his obligation of secrecy as an attorney, his contractual obligations, and his right to refuse to testify as an attorney. The ombudsman acts as a contact person for company employees, business partners, and customers to contact if they need to report suspicious activity. The ombudsman only reports such information to the Anti-Corruption Officer at REWE Group that has been released accordingly. The identity of the person reporting the activity is not disclosed at all.

"An ombudsman is not meant to be a person for registering general complaints, dissatisfaction, claims of workplace emotional abuse, or regular argumentativeness. Yet we will persistently investigate all reports of conflict of interest, rule breaking, suspicious situations, actions, individuals, and companies, and we will always report criminal offences to the appropriate authorities any time we find grounds for suspicion," the REWE Group CEO explained.

With a total turnover of 43.5 billion euros, REWE Group is the second-largest food trading company in Germany (REWE, Penny, toom hypermarkets) and the third-largest in European food trading and in travel and tourism (ITS, Jahn Reisen, Dertour, Meier’s Weltreisen). The trading and travel company employs a workforce of 270,000 at 12,000 stores and travel agencies (DER, Atlas Reisen) in 14 European countries.

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REWE GROUP-Corporate Communications
Tel.: 0221 - 149-1050
E-Mail: presse(at)rewe-group.com

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