On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), pursuant to Executive Order 14046, Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons With Respect to the Humanitarian and Human Rights...more
12/3/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Corruption ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Ethiopia ,
Exports ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Goods or Services ,
Human Rights ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular
The crushing aftermath of the tragic 737 MAX scandal is disturbing at the least. Innocent lives were lost because of Boeing’s culture misfires, poor leadership at the management and board level, and an arrogant disregard for...more
11/30/2021
/ Aircraft ,
Airplane Accidents ,
Aviation Industry ,
Boeing ,
Caremark claim ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corruption ,
Internal Controls ,
Safety Standards ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
White Collar Crimes
In its decision, the Chancery Court methodically analyzed the weaknesses in Boeing’s board processes and its fundamental failure to meet basic Caremark standards in tackling airplane safety issues, particularly after the Lion...more
When I reviewed again the US Department of Justice’s conclusions reached as part of the Boeing criminal investigation, and the Delaware Chancery Court’s decision denying Boeing’s motion to dismiss the shareholder derivative...more
Mashreqbank, based in Dubai, agreed to pay $100 million to the New York Department of Financial Services, the Federal Reserve, and the Office of Foreign Asset Control for violation of the now-repealed Sudan Sanctions...more
11/23/2021
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Compliance ,
Consent Order ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
NYDFS ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Sudan ,
White Collar Crimes
Bribery occurs in the United States — what a surprise! Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index ranks the United States as 25 out of 179, a relatively low ranking for corruption. Some have argued (including...more
11/11/2021
/ Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Defense Contracts ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Contractors ,
Money Laundering ,
U.S. Navy ,
White Collar Crimes
On October 28, 2021, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco—a veteran of government service in previous Administrations and a champion of corporate accountability—announced several significant changes to current...more
11/10/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corporate Monitoring ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Ethics ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Policy Statement ,
Prosecutorial Discretion ,
White Collar Crimes
Little problems can become big ones. A failure to respond to a risk – whether it is a conflict of interest violation or a weakness in internal controls – can become even more significant depending on the size and scope of...more
11/10/2021
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Internal Controls ,
Kickbacks ,
Money Laundering ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
We have heard it over and over, again and again – third-parties pose significant risks of bribery for all global businesses. Almost every FCPA enforcement action includes some form of third-party misconduct. The current...more
Lisa Monaco, the Deputy Attorney General (No. 2 in DOJ), delivered an important speech at the National Institute of White Collar Summit. Lisa was part of the Enron Task Force years ago and has a strong professional...more
11/2/2021
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
National Security ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
White Collar Crimes
The Credit Suisse case highlights the significant impact that global corruption and fraud can have on developing economies. Mozambique’s economy suffered serious harm from the scheme, which started to unravel when the IMF...more
10/26/2021
/ Bonds ,
Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Credit Suisse ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
IMF ,
Mozambique ,
Offerings ,
Securities Fraud ,
White Collar Crimes
Credit Suisse Group AG (“Credit Suisse”), a global financial institution, and its London-based European subsidiary, Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited (“CSSEL”) resolved a wide-ranging bribery and fraud scheme...more
10/25/2021
/ Banking Sector ,
Books & Records ,
Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Credit Suisse ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financing ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Investment ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
Mark Forkner, a former Chief Technical Pilot, was indicted on two counts of fraud involving aircraft parts in interstate commerce and four counts of wire fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison...more
10/19/2021
/ Airplane Accidents ,
Aviation Industry ,
Boeing ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employee Training ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Indictments ,
Interstate Commerce ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
The new Anti-Money Laundering laws and regulations continue to roll out with new risks, liabilities and compliance requirements. There is a coming AML enforcement storm, fueled by a new AML whistleblower program that will...more
10/15/2021
/ AML/CFT ,
Broker-Dealer ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corruption ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Management ,
Memorandum of Guidance ,
Money Laundering ,
National Security ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has targeted collusion in labor markets for criminal prosecution. This was not unexpected. Indeed, the Antitrust Division gave plenty of warning to companies that criminal...more
10/4/2021
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Cartels ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Collusion ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Wage-Fixing ,
White Collar Crimes
In a pair of enforcement actions, OFAC settled two separate actions involving Schlumberger Limited subsidiaries – the first involving Cameron International Corporation, and the second, Schlumberger Rod Lift, Inc., a former...more
10/1/2021
/ Arctic Drilling ,
Corruption ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Goods or Services ,
Infrastructure ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
Suppliers ,
Supply Contracts ,
Ukraine
The long political and prosecution standoff between the U.S. Government/Department of Justice and Huawei/China ended abruptly last week when Wanzhou Meng, CFO of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. appeared in federal district...more
9/30/2021
/ Bank Fraud ,
China ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
HSBC ,
Huawei ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Sanction Violations ,
US Trade Policies ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
The SEC’s FCPA enforcement action against WPP presents a number of important lessons learned, ranging from third-party risk management, properly responding to employee complaints and red flags, and failure to integrate...more
9/29/2021
/ Accounting Controls ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Risk ,
White Collar Crimes
The SEC’s FCPA settlement with WPP for over $19.2 million provides a variety of bribery schemes in several high-risk venues. The schemes are instructive because they remind anti-corruption compliance professionals of the...more
9/28/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Brazil ,
Bribery ,
China ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
India ,
Peru ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
After a long hiatus, the SEC announced a settlement with WPP plc, the world’s largest advertising group, for FCPA violations in India, China, Brazil and Peru for $19.2 million. The SEC’s resolution charges WPP with...more
9/27/2021
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Books & Records ,
Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
In a surprising (but fully warranted) twist, the Justice Department returned an indictment against a former employee of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (“Ericsson”), a global telecommunications company, for his role in paying...more
9/22/2021
/ Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Djibouti ,
Ericsson ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Officials ,
Indictments ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Telecommunications ,
White Collar Crimes
The Treasury Department’s Offices of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) continues its enforcement run in 2021, and added yet another tech company to its list of targets....more
9/20/2021
/ Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Goods or Services ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
White Collar Crimes
Recently, the SEC announced a settlement with Kraft Foods for $62 million and with two Kraft executives for financial reporting misstatements. Along with the corporate settlement with Kraft, the SEC announced proposed...more
Scores of articles and volumes of commentary have been issued since President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. issued a presidential memorandum (hereinafter, “Memorandum”) making global anticorruption efforts an urgent national security...more
The Justice Department suffered a terrible blow to its reputation during the financial crash in 2008 to 2009 for failing to criminally prosecute those individuals responsible for the financial misconduct. It was one of the...more