In assessing the likelihood of risks arising, a judgement will be made as to whether the possibility of a risk realising is deemed to be low, moderate or high. An overall assessment of each risk is made according to its impact and likelihood of occurrence based on the current controls in place.
In developing and monitoring the implementation of our business strategies, Metre Ventures UAB is to assess the actions we intend to take, together with any known external circumstances that may have an impact on us, for the risks they may pose. This has to be done with an understanding of the extent to which Metre Ventures UAB is prepared to accept the risks associated with the actions Metre Ventures UAB plans to take. This is our ‘risk appetite’; the extent to which we will tolerate known risks, in return for the benefits expected from a particular action or set of actions.
With careful planning and management Metre Ventures UAB aims to operate its business with a low level of risk wherever possible. However, there are circumstances where Metre Ventures UAB incurs moderate risk, for example if we are making significant changes to current strategies, taking on new activities or external pressures impact our work. We may also need to consider accepting high risks in certain circumstances. This may be in situations where the actions involved represent the single, or least unpalatable option to manage the issues involved, which may have been externally imposed, and therefore over which Metre Ventures UAB will have little or no direct control. Nonetheless, and whenever it may be necessary to accept medium or high risk, or if an activity is central to our strategic objectives, and the risks of not proceeding outweigh the risks of the activity. Metre Ventures UAB`s Board of Directors will be asked to consider such risks in detail and will need to have reviewed and taken a position on alternative courses of action before the risk is accepted. Metre Ventures UAB`s risk appetite is not therefore static and may need to vary according to the circumstances facing Metre Ventures UAB, which at times, may justify accepting a higher level of risk than would usually be the case.
Metre Ventures UAB`s Board of Directors will determine the risk appetite and set the culture of risk management within Metre Ventures UAB with particular regard to new initiatives and emerging risks. Metre Ventures UAB`s Board of Directors has ultimate responsibility for risk management within Metre Ventures UAB including major decisions affecting Metre Ventures UAB`s risk profile or exposure. It will periodically dedicate time specifically for horizon scanning in order to identify and consider the nature of emerging risks, sources of uncertainty, threats and trends, and also to reflect on any learning from Metre Ventures UAB`s response to unforeseen events.
Metre Ventures UAB`s Audit and Risk Committee provides an independent and objective view of the arrangements for the management of risk. It will advise Metre Ventures UAB`s Board of Directors on the co-ordination and prioritization of risk management issues throughout Metre Ventures UAB. Metre Ventures UAB`s Audit and Risk Committee oversees internal and external audit and reviews their recommendations and advises Metre Ventures UAB`s Board of Directors on the effectiveness of the internal control system. It satisfies itself that risks are being actively managed with the appropriate controls in place and that they are working effectively. And it monitors and critically reviews the management of significant risks and the maintenance of the corporate risk register to ensure these are fit for purpose.
Metre Ventures UAB`s Audit and Risk Committee will report to Metre Ventures UAB`s Board of Directors on internal controls and alert the Board to any emerging issues. Metre Ventures UAB`s Board of Directors will receive minutes of the Audit and Risk Committee, plus an annual report from the committee to provide assurance that the approach to risk management is effective, comprehensive and robust particularly in regard to the significant risks facing Metre Ventures UAB.
Metre Ventures UAB`s corporate governance and risk manager has responsibility for coordinating the corporate risk register, and for supporting Metre Ventures UAB`s Board of Directors and Metre Ventures UAB`s Audit and Risk Committee in their responsibilities for risk assessment and management.
In addition, External auditor provide advice and feedback to the Metre Ventures UAB`s Audit and Risk Committee on the operation of the internal financial controls reviewed as part of the annual audit, and also give a view on the completeness of the annual governance statement.
The existence of cross-border elements requires a higher degree of scrutiny, particularly in the context of tax good governance. For all Projects with an Intermediate Entity or a Controlling Entity established or incorporated in a HR or NCJ, Metre Ventures UAB shall perform Enhanced IDD checks to determine whether:
The existence of plausible justifications will be analysed by the General Counsel's Office, either in-house or with external assistance. Such justifications may include, inter alia: (i) the existence of stable legal systems or legal systems with clear laws regarding issues such as governance, liability and taxation, which facilitate contract enforcement; (ii) a legal framework not equally available in the Host Jurisdiction; (iii) the willingness to use a certain jurisdiction to attract capital from multiple sources and avoid double taxation and/or other tax burdens that could make the structure uneconomical; (iv) corporate security for companies and investors seeking a platform not equally available in their respective countries of incorporation or residence; (v) recognition of internationally accepted agreements, corporate forms that ensure limited liability of shareholders; (vi) marketability of the structure in accordance with standard market practice.
For the purposes of Enhanced IDD, counterparties may be requested to:
Jurisdictions not reviewed by Reference Bodies With respect to Intermediate Entities/Controlling Entities located in jurisdictions not reviewed by Reference Bodies, the General Counsel’s Office shall evaluate, based upon information available to it and, to the extent possible, in consultation with the Reference Bodies, whether, for the purpose of a given transaction, a given jurisdiction meets international standards. The fact that a jurisdiction is not reviewed by a Reference Body does not create a presumption that the jurisdiction does or does not meet international standards for the purposes of this Policy.
This policy section defines minimum requirements for the protection against fraud for all business areas of Metre Ventures UAB. Metre Ventures UAB is obliged to conduct its business in accordance with legal requirements or other relevant guidelines. This policy applies to business relationships, within the organization as well as to business relationships with third parties such as customers, suppliers, and authorities.
Metre Ventures UAB requires all staff at all times to act honestly and with integrity and to safeguard the resources for which they are responsible. Metre Ventures UAB will not accept any level of fraud or corruption and is committed to ensuring that opportunities for fraud and corruption are minimized.
Metre Ventures UAB`s zero-tolerance to fraud means that any case detected will be thoroughly investigated and dealt with appropriately. Metre Ventures UAB`s Chief Executive, has overall responsibility for ensuring that proper governance and probity arrangements are in place and maintained.
The prevention, detection, investigation, and management of fraud are essential elements of these arrangements. Metre Ventures UAB`s Chief Executive has delegated this responsibility to the Director of Corporate Services as the Senior Manager in relation to Fraud.
Metre Ventures UAB`s Board of Directors is committed to creating and maintaining an anti-fraud culture. A key component of this is ensuring that all staff are alert to the risks of fraud, know what constitutes fraud, and know how to report it. Metre Ventures UAB`s Board of Directors adopts a zero tolerance approach to fraud and will not accept any level of fraud within the organization.
Zero-tolerance also means that there will be a thorough investigation of all allegations or suspicions of fraud and robust action will be taken where fraud is proven in line with Metre Ventures UAB`s Fraud Response Plan. Where Counter Fraud and Probity Services investigators indicate that there is a case to answer and that there is sufficient evidence that a fraud has occurred, Metre Ventures UAB will report the matter to the relevant authorities with a view to pursuing a criminal prosecution.
Metre Ventures UAB will also seek to recover all losses resulting from the fraud, if necessary through civil court proceedings.
Anyone suspecting that a fraud has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur, is required to report it. It is the policy of Metre Ventures UAB that no employee will suffer in any way as a result of reporting “reasonably held suspicions” of fraud where reasonably held suspicions means any suspicions other than those that are raised maliciously. Malicious allegations may be subject to disciplinary action.
After proper investigation of any allegation or suspicion of fraud, in line with Metre Ventures UAB`s Fraud Response Plan, Metre Ventures UAB will consider the most appropriate action to take. Where fraud involving a Metre Ventures UAB employee is proven, Metre Ventures UAB will instigate disciplinary action against the employee which may result in dismissal.
Metre Ventures UAB has adopted a Counter Fraud Strategy as the basis for its anti-fraud activities. The key elements of this Strategy are as follows:
Metre Ventures UAB supports the role of Counter Fraud and Probity Services and has assigned the role of Fraud Liaison Officer to ensure that appropriate fraud prevention and detection measures are implemented in accordance with the services guidance. The Fraud Liaison Officer reports directly to Metre Ventures UAB`s Chief Executive.
Metre Ventures UAB has implemented a range of policies and procedures designed to ensure probity, business integrity and minimize the likelihood and impact of incidents of fraud arising. Metre Ventures UAB has also put in place a robust Internal Audit service that is actively involved in the review of the adequacy and effectiveness of control systems which act to deter fraud.
Metre Ventures UAB`s Standing Financial Instructions require any employee or officer discovering or suspecting a fraud to report it without delay. Reporting of fraud generally follows line management responsibility, beginning with the Line Manager or Head of Department. Staff can also raise their concerns directly with their Director or the Director of Corporate Services. The Fraud Response Plan provides full details of internal reporting channels.
The whistleblowing policy also provides additional guidance should a matter have to be reported externally. The Whistleblowing Policy also details the commitment of the Chief Executive, Chairman and Board to protect employees who raise genuine concerns.
The completion of fraud awareness training is a mandatory requirement for all Metre Ventures UAB staff and Board members.
Fraud awareness literature, this policy, and the Fraud Response Plan form part of the staff induction pack. Metre Ventures UAB will support regional initiatives to raise the awareness of fraud.
The Chief Executive has overall responsibility for ensuring that proper governance and probity arrangements are in place and maintained. This includes maintaining a sound system of internal control to support the achievement of organizational objectives and managing risk, including risk associated with fraud.
The Audit Committee is responsible for reporting to the Board and Accounting Officer on indications of possible illegal acts or fraud and management’s actions to remedy them. Audit Committee members are required to be familiar with Metre Ventures UAB`s business model, risks, control environment and reporting processes. The Audit Committee should review:
The overall responsibility for managing the risk of fraud has been delegated to the Director of Corporate Services. Key responsibilities include:
Managers are responsible for preventing and detecting fraud. This includes:
All staff should conduct themselves lawfully ensuring that they do not commit fraud. It is also the responsibility of staff to act in a manner that protects Metre Ventures UAB from fraud. Every member of Staff is responsible for:
Internal Audit are responsible for:
This policy section provides you with information about the Anti Money Laundering practices carried out and applied by by Metre Ventures UAB.
Metre Ventures UAB is committed to the highest standards of the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF). To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person opening an account.
Money laundering - the process of converting funds, received from illegal activities (such as fraud, corruption, terrorism, etc.), into other funds or investments that look legitimate to hide or distort the real source of funds.
The process of money laundering can be divided into three sequential stages:
Metre Ventures UAB adheres to the principles of Anti-Money Laundering and actively prevents any actions that aim or facilitate the process of legalizing of illegally gained funds. AML policy means preventing the use of the company’s services by criminals, with the aim of money laundering, terrorist financing or other criminal activity.
To prevent money laundering, Metre Ventures UAB neither accepts nor pays cash under any circumstances. The company reserves the right to suspend any client’s operation, which can be regarded as illegal or, may be related to money laundering in the opinion of the staff.
Metre Ventures UAB will make sure that it is dealing with a real person or legal entity. Metre Ventures UAB also performs all the required measures in accordance with applicable law and regulations, issued by monetary authorities. The AML policy is being fulfilled within Metre Ventures UAB by means of the following:
Because of the company's commitment to the AML and KYC policies, each client of the company has to finish a verification procedure. Before Metre Ventures UAB starts any cooperation with the client, the company ensures that satisfactory evidence is produced or such other measures that will produce satisfactory evidence of the identity of any customer or counter party are taken. The company as well applies heightened scrutiny to clients, who are residents of other countries, identified by credible sources as countries, having inadequate AML standards or that may represent a high risk for crime and corruption and to beneficial owners who resides in and whose funds are sourced from named countries.
During the process of registration, each client provides personal information, specifically: full name; date of birth; country of origin; and complete residential address. The following documents are required in order to verify the personal information: A client sends the following documents (in case the documents are written in non-Latin characters: to avoid any delays in the verification process, it is necessary to provide a notarised translation of the document in English) because of the requirements of KYC and to confirm the indicated information:
In case the applicant company is listed on a recognised or approved stock exchange or when there is independent evidence to show that the applicant is a wholly owned subsidiary or a subsidiary under the control of such a company, no further steps to verify identity will normally be required. In case the company is unquoted and none of the principal directors or shareholders already has an account with Metre Ventures UAB, the following documentations must be provided:
In addition to gathering information from the clients, Metre Ventures UAB continues to monitor the activity of every client to identify and prevent any suspicious transactions. A suspicious transaction is known as a transaction that is inconsistent with the client’s legitimate business or the usual client’s transaction history known from client activity monitoring. Metre Ventures UAB has implemented the system of monitoring the named transactions (both automatic and, if needed, manual) to prevent using the company’s services by criminals.
Records must be kept of all transaction data and data obtained for the purpose of identification, as well as of all documents related to money laundering topics (e.g. files on suspicious activity reports, documentation of AML account monitoring, etc.). Those records are kept for a minimum of 7 years after the account is closed.
In cases of an attempt to execute transactions which Metre Ventures UAB suspects that are related to money laundering or other criminal activity, it will proceed in accordance with the applicable law and report suspicious activity to regulating authority.
Metre Ventures UAB reserves the right to suspend any client's operation, which can be regarded as illegal or may be related to money laundering in the opinion of the staff. Metre Ventures UAB has complete discretion to temporarily block the suspicious client account or terminate an existing client relationship.
This policy section provides you with information about the Due Diligence practices carried out and applied by by Metre Ventures UAB. In a global context with an increasingly demanding legal framework as regards responsibility of companies towards preventing corrupt practices in their trade relations, approval of this Policy shows not only compliance by Metre Ventures UAB with certain statutes, such as, Bribery Act in UK or Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the USA (FCPA), but also the alignment of Metre Ventures UAB’s relations with its business partners, suppliers and large customers, with the processes described in international standard ISO 37001 on Anti-bribery Management Systems of Organizations.
This Policy will be developed and implemented based upon the following principles:
Metre Ventures UAB shall employ any available means to carry out an appropriate Due Diligence process, including:
At any rate, Due Diligence process may entail:
This Policy will be available to all employees, and to all stakeholders of the Company on the corporate website. Likewise, the Policy shall be subject to the appropriate disclosure, training and awareness-raising action, aimed at its full understanding and enforcement.
This Policy may only be implemented in coordination and with the enforcement of the regulations described, and with the appropriate enforcement of the Standard for Procurement Management and the Procedure for Limiting Trade Relations with Suppliers in Restricted or Unauthorized Markets.
Metre Ventures UAB undertakes to assign specific resources to ensure the effective implementation of the Policy.
Metre Ventures UAB shall carry out appropriate processes for the regular identification of current and potential impacts in the field of corruption, fraud, international trade sanctions or similar risks which may occur, and, if appropriate, take the relevant measures to prevent and mitigate any potential negative consequences thereof.
Likewise, Metre Ventures UAB may collaborate with the most relevant stakeholders upon implementing this Policy.
The General Counsel's Office shall be responsible for implementing and monitoring the Policy as a control system, with the required collaboration from the following departments: Enterprise Risk Management, Technology, Processes and Projects, Administration, Corporate Procurement, Sustainability, and any other department directly associated with the Third Party. Meanwhile, the Internal Audit department shall be responsible for overseeing the Policy.
All Group's areas, departments and subsidiaries shall be responsible for the appropriate implementation of the Policy, and namely for the application of the principles set out in section 4 above from the moment they engage in relations with Third parties.
The Policy will be reviewed and updated, where applicable, to bring it into line with any changes that the business model may undergo, or that may occur in the context where Metre Ventures UAB operates, ensuring at all times the effective implementation thereof.
If you have any questions or concerns about this Policy, or if you wish to make a complaint, please send a written request to us.
This Policy was updated on 09.11.2021 and is effective as of that date.