About this episode

The episode discusses managing compliance and national security risks when doing business in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In this episode, Tom Fox welcomes David Simon, Partner at Foley & Lardner; Jack Korba, Of Counsel at Foley & Lardner; and Olivier Bustin, a Partner at Pinsent Masons, to discuss doing business in and with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This is the second part of a two-part series on this topic, in which they present a detailed approach to evaluating and managing travel to a high-risk country or region. They discuss how companies investing in high-risk jurisdictions like the Democratic Republic of the Congo should treat diligence as ongoing risk management, using tailored controls, audits, and continuous monitoring informed by geopolitical developments and government/regulatory priorities (including signals such as announcements and sector focus, such as critical minerals). The speakers emphasize pragmatism: accepting some ambiguity while designing jurisdiction-specific compliance frameworks, rather than placing standard programs on “autopilot” and maintaining active C-suite and board engagement. They stress building and documenting a rational, risk-tolerant decision process that can be explained to regulators (e.g., DOJ/SEC), including knowing counterparties and…

People in this episode

Host: Tom Fox

Guests: David Simon, Jack Korba, Olivier Bustin

Topics covered

• compliance
• national security
• risk management
• high-risk jurisdictions
• geopolitical developments
• business strategy

Keywords

• compliance frameworks
• risk tolerance
• due diligence
• critical minerals
• C-suite engagement
• regulatory priorities

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Foley & Lardner, Pinsent Masons

Places: Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC

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• AI in Compliance and Eastward AI’s Continuous Risk “Reality Check” · July 13, 2026 · 30 min
• Managing Compliance and National Security Risks When Doing Business in the DRC, Part 1 · June 22, 2026 · 29 min
• Data Defensibility: The Foundation of AI Readiness with George Tziahanas · June 15, 2026 · 30 min

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