Finance Colombia » – If it is determined that the business

If it is determined that the business practices have violated the FCPA or other similar laws applicable to us, we may be subject to civil and criminal proceedings, including sanctions, fines and regulatory measures, which could, among other things, damage our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, including our ability to administer secured obligations. Through our internal processes, we discovered in 2017 a business practice whereby employees of the Corporation, including senior management and certain members of the Board of Directors have provided “items of value” which, in our opinion, are currently limited to free and discounted airfare and upgrades for government employees in some countries. Based on our research to date, we have implemented additional controls limiting the issuance of free or discounted tickets and upgrades, in particular by senior management and members of our Board of Directors, and will maintain these restrictions until an external attorney determines that our controls are effective in complying with applicable laws in any relevant jurisdiction. In 2018, we made some revisions to our policies to ensure that such practices do not occur in the future, including limiting the number of people in the organization eligible for free and discounted air travel and requiring other internal authorizations. We opened an internal investigation and engaged an outside attorney and forensic consulting firm to determine whether this practice violated the FCPA or other potentially applicable anti-corruption laws in the United States and outside the United States, and received preliminary recommendations from attorneys. The Corporation’s Board of Directors and some employees have given free tickets, discounts and upgrades to bureaucrats in some countries, which may constitute corruption. We continue to investigate, monitor, and review whether additional controls or procedures should be implemented, and are in the process of hiring outside legal counsel and a forensic firm to conduct these additional investigations. Our internal investigation is not complete and we cannot predict the outcome of this internal investigation or the actions that might be taken by the U.S. Department of Justice, the SEC, local regulatory authorities or government officials. He has more than 20 years of international business experience, including more than a decade of institutional and international experience in securities, insurance and commercial real estate. On August 13, 2019, we voluntarily notified the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC of this investigation, and we are working with both organizations. Avianca now has a new Board of Directors, President and CEO, Vanko An Der Werff, and since Avianca operates in the United States and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, it is our responsibility in this regard. We will also inform the Colombian tax authorities of this investigation. It appears that the problem was discovered in 2017, but will only be discovered after a change of direction.