Statement bpost on compliance review methodology
bpost regrets insinuations made in the media, concerning the compliance review relating to the tender for the concession for the distribution of newspapers in Belgium, launched last year by the chair of the Board of Directors.
Sunday 7 May 2023A best practices methodology was adopted in consultation with the Compliance team, which had the appropriate competence and expertise in this domain. The in-house investigation team, led by the head of Compliance and the head of Audit at bpost, was assisted by external consultants (two independent law firms and an independent computer forensics expert) to validate the approach, prepare the interviews and specify how the compliance review would proceed. This enabled a thorough objective investigation to be conducted into the course of events at the organisation. The various lines of inquiry were kept separate as part of this methodology, given the relationships of kin and friendship between the persons involved. These relationships have been known from the very beginning and have always been communicated openly to ensure that the work could be carried out objectively.
The investigation revealed that certain members of senior management broke the internal compliance rules. bpost ultimately decided to terminate the employment of the CEO and two other senior managers.
The irregularities identified by bpost are also being investigated by other external bodies. bpost is cooperating with these investigations in an open and transparent way.
In these circumstances, we regret that the work of the in-house Compliance team is being called into question. bpost expresses its complete confidence in the investigation, of which the competent authorities will be the final arbiter.
