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Martha Araujo Hager

Attorney

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Martha Araujo Hager, an attorney at Sequor Law, is licensed to practice in Florida, New York and in Brazil (including before the Brazilian Supreme Court). She brings 30 years of experience, including fraud and corruption: (a) for a decade in Brazil, as a civil and criminal state prosecutor; (b) at the United Nations; (c) at the World Bank Group; and (d) at the International Monetary Fund.

As an attorney in the U.S., Martha has experience in international commercial litigation cases, as well as advising individual and corporate clients in parallel US and Brazilian investigations and judicial proceedings.

Practice of Law in Brazil: Martha practiced law in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for the Sao Paulo State Attorney’s Office (Ministerio Publico de Sao Paulo) for 10 years. As a Brazilian attorney, Martha handled approximately 30 cases in Brazil in jury trials and thousands of cases to verdict via the Brazilian procedure of submission of the case on briefing. Notably, Martha investigated and successfully prosecuted public officials for fraud and corruption.

International Practice: Martha has a proven track record of practice in the areas of international law and internal fraud and corruption investigations for some of the world largest international organizations: the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

United Nations/Timor-Leste: Martha worked under the UN Security Council mandate in the country of Timor-Leste in 2005, as an International Prosecutor and Trainer of the first group of Timorese Judges and Prosecutors following the creation of the independent country of East Timor. Her experience as a UN International Prosecutor included a variety of cases from investigatory phase to trials and appeals.

United Nations/New York/Africa/ Caribbean/Middle East/Latin America/Asia: Martha’s responsibilities as an Investigator with the UN (from 2007 to 2012) consisted of leading international internal investigations of serious fraud in contracts with vendors, corruption of national government officials, sexual harassment, and sexual exploitation and abuse of children in UN peacekeeping missions. Martha investigated and pursued disciplinary actions against UN officials in several countries in Latin America, Africa, Europe and Asia. In addition, Martha assisted foreign peacekeeping contingent troops to conduct investigations of military misconduct in the pursuit of court-martial proceedings by appropriate national authorities.

For the United Nations, Martha co-authored protocols of best practices in investigations, investigative techniques and collaborated with the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services Investigations Manual, which covered the complex logistics of investigations in various jurisdictions.

Martha also co-authored the design, development and delivery of the first UN Sexual Harassment Investigations Training Program throughout the UN across the globe, which included best practices in developing protocols and standard operating procedures of investigations of sexual harassment in the context of international organizations investigative procedures and methodology (including interviewing techniques). The program became a standard protocol throughout the UN offices and agencies.

World Bank Group: Martha worked for the World Bank Group (International Bank for Reconstruction and International Development Association) at the Integrity Vice Presidency and the Ethics and Business Office. She advised senior managers of the organization and conducted international investigations into fraud and corruption in developing countries, as to billion-dollar public contracts funded by the organization. She also worked on whistleblower cases, retaliation and other corporate financial misconduct on behalf of the World Bank Group, on cases in Latin America, Africa, South Asia and in the US.

International Monetary Fund: Martha worked as a consultant for the International Monetary Fund (the IMF) where she conducted international and internal investigations into allegations of staff misconduct such as fraud, corruption, conflict of interest, harassment in the workplace, in various offices of the organization across the world.

Favorite Quote:

“A vida é como um quebra-cabeça. O importante não é ter todas as peças, é colocá-las no lugar certo.” – Jô Soares

“Life is like a puzzle. The important thing is not having all the pieces, but placing them in the right place.” – Jô Soares

Languages:

• English (fluent)
• Brazilian Portuguese (native)
• Spanish (conversational)
• French (conversational)