The Justice Department has had a slow year in FCPA enforcement (another profound grasp of the obvious). The reasons for this may be a question of timing elements in the pipeline of cases....more
11/14/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Assistance Programs ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Third-Party Risk ,
White Collar Crimes
One of the many great experiences I have been fortunate to have in my career is to meet some impressive leaders – at the Department of Justice, on Capitol Hill, and in corporations. To focus on the latter, I have met some...more
One of the benefits of old(er) age is perspective and experience. (As we age, we have to find the positive reasons to tout). If there is one thing (of many) the compliance profession has demonstrated, it is that compliance...more
On September 22, 2023, the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued its “Reminder to file your 2023 annual report of Blocked Property,” noting that entities or persons subject to the...more
Call me a skeptic. Call me cynical.
I understand that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) provides valuable standardization services and guidance. The ISO is comprised of 169 member countries....more
We all agree on the importance of corporate culture. Everyone gets it – corporate leaders mouth the words but rarely understand the nuances, and the need to attend to a company’s culture. Compliance professionals want to...more
The Ethics and Compliance Initiative (“ECI”) is a terrific organization that provides important ethics and compliance insights and leadership. Starting in 1994, ECI has conducted a longitudinal, cross-section study of...more
The Justice Department’s Opinion Release procedure has provided important guidance over the years. The library of Opinion Release letters is well-organized and accessible to the legal and compliance community....more
The SEC is having a good year in prosecuting FCPA cases. The SEC’s recent settlement with 3M Corp. for $6.5 million is its seventh corporate resolution for the year. DOJ, which has been relatively quiet so far this year,...more
8/29/2023
/ 3M Company ,
Anti-Corruption ,
China ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice has laid down a marker – companies would be smart to understand the significant change in ethics and compliance program expectations. Companies that ignore this new landscape are gambling with their...more
How much is an effective Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) Compliance Program Worth?
For Toronto-Dominion Bank (“TD”), the answer is at least $225 million––the amount that TD must now pay to First Horizon Bank, after backing...more
5/25/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crimes ,
Internal Controls ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
OCC ,
Popular
The Justice Department certainly has altered the landscape of enforcement, compliance priorities, and ultimately corporate decisions surrounding voluntary disclosure. It has become a little bit more complicated to sort out...more
Even with the current focus on sanctions compliance, many companies have done little to assess and enhance their existing sanctions compliance program. Instead, a number of companies have stitched together a basic sanctions...more
Let’s move beyond the headline – trade compliance is the new FCPA. We get it. The next step is to do something about it. The Justice Department has repeated this refrain – it is one of its greatest hits. In addition, DOJ,...more
5/17/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Assessment ,
White Collar Crimes
I’m old enough to remember when seat belts were optional. And I remember people up in arms when seatbelt laws first passed. But now, my young adult children and their friends simply get in the car and buckle up without...more
Franks International (“Frank’s”) settled FCPA charges with the SEC for $8 million stemming from operations in Angola during the period 2008 to 2014. The Justice Department declined to prosecute Frank’s for the same events....more
5/11/2023
/ Angola ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The cryptocurrency industry has a target on its back – and perhaps justifiably so. The SEC, CFTC and OFAC have been bringing a number of regulatory enforcement actions, including against Bittrex, Inc. ($24,280,829.20 in...more
The famous swashbuckling adventure of The Three Musketeers should inspire chief compliance officers to pursue an important concept – the need for teamwork and collaboration is imperative for all compliance programs. We all...more
Microsoft’s remedial steps provide important best-practices for companies facing similar risk factors in the global economy, especially for global software companies that rely on Internet-based operations....more
4/12/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Best Practices ,
Blocked Person ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Microsoft ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Software ,
US Trade Policies
OFAC announced only one settlement in the first three months of 2023. Given its ongoing role in the implementation and enforcement of Russia Sanctions, OFAC’s enforcement record so far is completely understandable. The...more
4/11/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Corruption ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Fines ,
Microsoft ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Software
The Justice Department is rapidly pushing corporations to a new level of compliance. We are witnessing a watershed moment – DOJ is raising the bar on expectations surrounding corporate compliance programs. It would be a...more
As we have noted on numerous occasions, the U.S. Russia Sanctions and Export Control Program is unprecedented and a compliance challenge for all organizations. In another unprecedented action, the Justice Department and the...more
3/14/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Goods or Services ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Ukraine
The Justice Department continues to push on white collar corporate enforcement, and the intersection of national security sanctions and export controls with corporate criminal enforcement. Last week, Lisa Monaco, DOJ’s...more
3/10/2023
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Anti-Corruption ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Ethics ,
Export Controls ,
Money Laundering ,
White Collar Crimes
Ericsson, a multinational telecommunications company, based in Sweden, settled its breach of its 2019 Deferred Prosecution Agreement, agreed to enter a guilty plea and pay a $206 million penalty. In 2019, Ericsson entered...more
3/7/2023
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ericsson ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Iraq ,
ISIS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Telecommunications ,
White Collar Crimes
LRN continues to provide important insights and trends on the importance of ethics and compliance programs. LRN’s annual report is an important resource and needs to be reviewed by the board, senior management and all...more