13Wednesday 3 September 2008 | The Scotsman Special report | BUSINESS CLASS
ACOUPLEofyearsago,mypartnerandI
were on a business trip to Rome when
she had her wallet stolen on the
underground. Credit cards, money and
tickets�thoughmercifullynotpassport
�werelost.
We quickly stopped the cards and
reportedthelosstothelocalpolice.The
Carabinieri, whose responsibilities are
far more lofty than sorting out foolish
business travellers who get their
pockets picked, pointed us in the
directionofthemunicipalpolice.
They didn't exactly treat it as if it was
an assault by the Red Brigades � fair
enough,Isuppose�buttheywerepolite.
A detective ponderously typed our
statement, gave us a copy, and then
addedintheonethingwereallywanted
�thecrimereferencenumber,sothatwe
could make a claim with the insurance
company.
Iwentthroughmuchthesameexper-
ience a few years earlier when my hire
carwasbrokenintoonatriptoSpain.In
both cases the police were understand-
ing, efficient and fair, though I don't
suppose they ever caught those
involved.Muchthesame,I'dimagine,as
foreign business travellers would find
from our own Scottish forces if they ran
intoproblemshere.
Being a victim of crime when abroad
isunusual,butitcanhappentoanyone.
A colleague who went on a press trip to
Rio had his passport stolen. Again, the
system worked smoothly enough,
thoughhehadtoflyhometwodayslate
togivetheBritishConsulatetimetosort
outnewtraveldocuments.
These are some of the better stories.
There are, of course, far worse ones.
Another friend went to Syria on a
contract with an assurance from her
employers that she should pick up her
visa on arrival at Damascus Airport. She
flew in at 4am with a letter in English
authenticatinghermission.
The immigration officers, who only
spoke and read Arabic, couldn't believe
she'd turned up without a visa. It was
onlyaftersixhoursofdeeplyunpleasant
questioningthatshewasfinallyletin.
If you do get in trouble abroad, then
what is the best thing to do? In some
Middle Eastern countries, Russia and
India,thepoliceandauthoritiesmaybe
corrupt and expect a bribe. Indeed, you
may be arrested for the very purpose of
extractingmoneyfromyou.
PeterJenkins,corporatedirectorwith
security advice company International
SOS, says it is imperative that in places
where corruption is part of the culture,
business travellers must not become
involvedinanykindofbribery.
"This is the case particularly where a
crime may have been committed," he
says. "Employers must have an
unambiguous policy on this. The most
important point is that business
travellersabroadshouldhavesufficient
support from their employer that they
don'tneedtotryandworktheirwayout
ofthesesituationsalone.
"Whethertheyareavictimofcrime,a
witness, or have been arrested
themselves, an appropriate employer
will always be able to respond quickly
and with a full understanding of that
particularenvironment."
ANDREWCOLLIER
Falling victim to
criminals abroad is
mercifully rare,
but it can happen
to anyone
Picture: Craig Stephen
How are you going
to get out of this?

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