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
On July 13, 2023, U.S. prosecutors unsealed an indictment against Alexander Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of beleaguered Celsius Network LLC (“Celsius”) charging him with securities fraud, commodities fraud, and wire...more
8/1/2023
/ Commodities ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Platforms ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Indictments ,
Market Manipulation ,
Securities Fraud ,
Wire Fraud
We often read about lucrative bonus payments made to CEOs and other senior executives. With refinements in corporate governance structures, shareholders and investors are raising concerns over executive bonuses. To bring...more
The Justice Department’s recent revisions to its Corporate Enforcement Program and its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs stressed the importance of compensations systems and consequence management. The theoretical...more
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
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
We are living in a rapidly changing economic landscape. Companies are under the gun to navigate “traditional issues,” such as challenging economic conditions ranging from inflation, and a predicted recession, to supply chain...more
Once defined, installed, and surrounded with a consequence management system, a corporate culture is not fixed in stone. To the contrary, as the business adapts through growth, innovation or in response to outside market and...more
As a company’s most valuable intangible asset, we have witnessed the wreckage of companies that have fallen victim to reputational damage, scandal and ultimately the wasteland of a rotten corporate culture. In these...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
Not that I am a glutton for punishment, but I always find enforcement actions to supply a number of valuable lessons learned. There are always instructive nuggets of information, opportunities missed, and root causes that...more
4/5/2023
/ Banks ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics ,
Financial Transactions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
Wachovia ,
Wells Fargo
In our lifetime (however long or short), there is no way any company will ever match Wells Fargo for its record of misconduct, criminal and civil enforcement, and regulatory fines and penalties. No one, no way....more
If there ever is an example of a rotten corporate culture, Wells Fargo sits at the head of the class. Since Wells Fargo’s sales pressure scandal, Wells Fargo has continued to suffer from a string of scandals and misconduct. ...more
3/30/2023
/ Banks ,
Code of Conduct ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics ,
Fines ,
Government Investigations ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
OCC ,
Performance Incentives ,
Popular ,
Tone At The Top ,
Wells Fargo
The Justice Department has been pushing its voluntary self-disclosure program and changes to its Corporate Enforcement Policy, in an attempt to increase FCPA enforcement cooperation. The Golden Ring for every company facing...more
3/23/2023
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department finally released its new policy to improve corporate preservation of data generated by executives and employees. In this new technology era, companies have had significant gaps in collecting and...more
3/22/2023
/ Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Data Preservation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Evidence ,
Information Governance ,
New Regulations ,
Risk Management
The Justice Department is focusing with a laser beam on corporate incentives and disincentives. This truly is a remarkable initiative and companies should undertake their own holistic review of internal incentives and...more
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
Ericsson’s breach of its 2019 Deferred Prosecution Agreement reads like an internal investigation horror show. It is every investigator’s nightmare scenario – failure to discover evidence that was available to inform and...more
3/8/2023
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ericsson ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Iraq ,
Telecommunications ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department is on a marketing campaign – pushing a simple message. If your company commits misconduct, come in and confess to the Justice Department. To push this message, DOJ has tinkered with its Corporate...more
The Justice Department has taken steps to implement its new compliance compensation requirement announced in its Corporate Enforcement Policy revisions. With little fanfare, the Danske Bank $2 billion settlement with the...more
Here are some basic propositions that surround FCPA compliance. It is often underplayed that the FCPA contains more than just a bribery prohibition – the FCPA contains broad provisions, requiring accurate books and records...more
2/8/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Ethics ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice announced revisions to its Corporate Enforcement Policy (“CEP”) yet again in order to promote voluntary disclosures by Companies that discover potential wrongdoing. DOJ’s latest action demonstrated...more
NAVEX continues to be one of the premier sources of essential annual benchmarking studies. Recently, NAVEX issued its 2022 Definitive Risk and Compliance Benchmark Report. The Report was based on over 1100 survey responses...more
We constantly hear about the importance of “accountability,” meaning that organizations and individuals have to be held accountable for misconduct or failures to act. The focus on accountability is a positive trend,...more
The Department of Justice is pushing its commitment to voluntary disclosure programs. Companies, however, are not lining up at DOJ’s door. The balance between sitting tight or voluntary disclosures requires care....more