Could your supply chain be funding cartels without you realizing it? In today’s complex global economy, companies are grappling with a dual challenge – the urgent need to unravel their supply chains and the immediate...more
7/22/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Cartels ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Diligence ,
Financial Crimes ,
Money Laundering ,
Risk Management ,
Significant Transnational Criminal Organization ,
Supply Chain
The Trump Administration is aggressively pursuing export controls and sanctions enforcement. In two separate cases, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry...more
7/22/2025
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
China ,
Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Huawei ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Penalties ,
Sanctions ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury
What happens when companies ignore red flags, bypass legal advice, and underestimate the reach of U.S. export laws?
In this episode, Michael Volkov unpacks two major enforcement actions from the Department of Commerce’s...more
DOJ’s ability to bring False Claims Act actions against companies for customs fraud was affirmed in a significant Ninth Circuit decision, United States ex rel. Island Industries Inc. v. Sigma Corp., No. 22‑55063, __ F.4th __...more
7/17/2025
/ China ,
Court of International Trade ,
Customs ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Investigations ,
Jurisdiction ,
Penalties ,
Tariffs ,
US ex rel Tracy Schutte et al v SuperValu Inc et al ,
Whistleblowers
The Trump Administration intends to leave a strong enforcement mark on fraud and trade enforcement. DOJ is linking together trade enforcement and False Claims Act cases in an unprecedented manner that will open up new...more
7/16/2025
/ Anti-Dumping Duty ,
Customs ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Duties ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Evasion ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Penalties ,
Section 301 ,
Tariffs ,
Whistleblowers
Could your supply chain be funding cartels without you realizing it?
In today’s complex global economy, companies are grappling with a dual challenge - the urgent need to unravel their supply chains and the immediate...more
7/13/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Cartels ,
Corporate Governance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain
Cartels and TCOs have entrenched themselves in legitimate industry sectors. In recent years, cartels and TCOs have adapted to market changes and new technologies. Many cartels and TCOs are disguising their ownership and...more
Companies face a dual challenge — the pressing need to unravel their supply chains, and the immediate task of recalibrating due diligence systems to examine potential presence of cartel and transnational criminal...more
What happens when a company inherits a sanctions violation through acquisition, and acts fast to fix it?
Can a robust post-acquisition response really save a parent company from prosecution?
In this episode, Michael...more
The Unicat settlement provides some important insights into the Trump Administration’s direction on trade enforcement. It underscores the importance of voluntary disclosure, cooperation and remediation, the tri-part...more
DOJ’s Unicat resolution is a perfect example of the new trade enforcement reality under the Trump Administration. DOJ spearheaded a global resolution of sanctions, customs and export controls violations, while declining to...more
In an interesting enforcement action reflecting the Administration’s priority on sanctions, export and customs enforcement, DOJ announced a global resolution with DOJ, OFAC, BIS and CBP and Unicat Catalyst Technologies...more
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) has been relatively quiet on the enforcement front. That is not unusual — every transition results in an enforcement hiatus. Sanctions enforcement is a...more
6/24/2025
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Investment ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Penalties ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Ukraine ,
Venture Capital ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department has returned to the FCPA enforcement arena -- in a significant development, DOJ announced the resumption of FCPA enforcement, with a new set of enforcement guidance principles. The new guidance is an...more
The Justice Department has returned to the FCPA enforcement arena -- in a significant development, DOJ announced the resumption of FCPA enforcement, with a new set of enforcement guidance principles. The new guidance is an...more
DOJ’s new approach to FCPA enforcement presents some interesting opportunities — the headlines from the DOJ FCPA Guidance Memo will bring some significant changes but at the same time some things will not change. Here is my...more
The Justice Department has returned to the FCPA enforcement arena — in a significant development, DOJ announced the resumption of FCPA enforcement, with a new set of enforcement guidance principles. The new guidance is an...more
Is AI a magic bullet - or just another tool in the compliance toolkit?
What really happens when you let algorithms near your risk decisions?
In this episode of Corruption, Crime and Compliance, Christian Focacci, founder...more
6/15/2025
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Due Diligence ,
FinTech ,
Innovative Technology ,
Legal Technology ,
Machine Learning ,
Risk Management ,
Technology
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Kousisis v. United States affirmed a lower court’s decision upholding a conviction of federal wire fraud for inducing a victim to enter into a transaction under materially...more
With the rising importance of trade compliance programs, it is important to start with the law. (Spoken like a true lawyer). The U.S. relies on two powerful tariff tools — Section 301 and Section 232 tariffs. Relying on...more
What if your trade compliance misstep became tomorrow’s federal prosecution headline? In this episode, Michael Volkov issues a powerful warning to corporate leaders and compliance professionals: the DOJ is no longer treating...more
Tariff and trade violations are on DOJ’s radar screen. No question but starting with Customs and Border Patrol we can expect that regulatory investigations and enforcement actions will increase. Along with that — you can...more
6/4/2025
/ China ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Section 232 ,
Smuggling ,
Tariffs
Is your company ready to bet its future on whether it can outpace a whistleblower to the DOJ’s door?
In this episode, Michael Volkov takes a deep dive into the Department of Justice’s newly announced strategy to reshape...more
In the prior post, I cited three significant risk areas for False Claims Act (“FCA”) risks and trade compliance: (1) Valuation; (2) Misclassification and (3) Country of Origin. On April 18, 2025, the United States filed a...more
As in every Administration, the Trump Department of Justice has made clear its enforcement priorities — government fraud, immigration and national security to include tariff and trade violations. DOJ fully recognizes the...more