#  The Governance Suit: Vertical Intrafamilial Coercion (VIC) Risk Matrix for Board Audit Committees

Reading Time: 1 minute

 Sapience Financial Policy & Research Desk | Document Ref: FRAMEWORKS-2026.3 | Classification: Executive Governance

  Corporate audit and risk committees routinely screen for external fraud, elder abuse, and intimate partner violence, yet remain blind to **Vertical Intrafamilial Coercion (VIC)**. When senior executives or high-earning professionals are subjected to internal family captivity, corporate assets, signing authorities, and confidential IP face severe exposure.

 ### High-Density Institutional Risk Matrix

  | Risk Vector | Operational Exposure | Fiduciary Control Protocol |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow Directorships | Dominant parents forcing adult children to sign company guarantees or director documents. | Mandatory independent legal advice (ILA) verifications for family-linked corporate entities. |
| Credential Sharing | Family leaders demanding access to corporate portals, MyGov credentials, or bank tokens. | Enforce hardware-bound 2FA tokens and strict non-transferability audit logs. |
| Post-Mortem Wealth Stripping | Abusive parents filing family provision claims under Section 57(1)(e) of the *Succession Act*. | Deploy clean statutory statement records and disentitling conduct documentation. |