NatWest’s fraudulent “spoofing” schemes occurred in the primary and secondary markets for U.S. Department of Treasury Securities, including derivatives that tracked the prices of U.S. Treasury Securities for 5-year, 10-year...more
1/5/2022
/ Banks ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Derivatives ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
Futures ,
Royal Bank of Scotland ,
Securities Transactions ,
Spoofing ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice secured a guilty plea from NatWest Markets, the newly-named Royal Bank of Scotland, for trade manipulation, referred to as “spoofing,” in U.S. Treasury markets. The NatWest resolution reflected new...more
1/5/2022
/ Compliance ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Futures ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Market Manipulation ,
Royal Bank of Scotland ,
Securities Fraud ,
Spoofing ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
When the Department of Justice warns businesses and individuals, everyone needs to listen and respond accordingly. Starting in 2016, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division warned businesses that the Antitrust Division...more
12/20/2021
/ Aerospace ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Indictments ,
No-Hire/No-Solicitation Agreements ,
No-Poaching ,
Outsourcing ,
Popular ,
Price-Fixing ,
White Collar Crimes
The Antitrust Division won a preliminary skirmish against two co-defendants who challenged the criminal indictment against them charging price-fixing in the labor market. District Court Judge Mazzant, in the Eastern District...more
12/9/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Government Investigations ,
Health Care Providers ,
Indictments ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Per Se Rule ,
Price-Fixing ,
Sherman Act ,
Statutory Violations ,
Wage-Fixing
While we wait for the coming FCPA enforcement storm, DOJ and the SEC have quietly continued to rack up and resolve several enforcement actions....more
12/8/2021
/ Adoption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Odebrecht ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statutory Violations ,
White Collar Crimes
When considered in light of the Chancery Court’s decision, DOJ’s essential findings in its Boeing investigation are problematic at best. The Chancery Court’s decision outlines how Boeing’s culture of safety deteriorated into...more
11/24/2021
/ Airplane Accidents ,
Aviation Industry ,
Boeing ,
Breach of Duty ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivative Suit ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Safety Standards ,
White Collar Crimes
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
The Justice Department continues to attack and dismantle global ransomware extortion organizations. Business surveys often confirm that executives are hyper-focused on the risk of ransomware attacks against businesses....more
11/18/2021
/ Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Extradition ,
Hackers ,
Indictments ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
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
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
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
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 Justice Department announced the indictment of Mark Forkner, a former Chief Technical Pilot for Boeing for his role in the 737 MAX scandal. Specifically, Forkner is charged with deceiving the FAA’s Aircraft Evaluation...more
10/18/2021
/ Airplane Accidents ,
Aviation Industry ,
Boeing ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Fraud ,
Indictments ,
Safety Standards ,
White Collar Crimes
The healthcare industry faces cascading risks – one risk flows to another with compounding financial results. Three generic drug companies just experienced this cascading liability. ...more
10/7/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apotex ,
Cartels ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Life Sciences ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Sandoz
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
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 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
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
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’s Antitrust Division has a long and rich history. For years, “the Division” as it liked to refer to itself, charted its own path in antitrust enforcement, especially when it comes to criminal...more
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division continues to target a sprawling cartel investigation of the chicken industry. In its most recent action, the Justice Department announced an indictment of Koch Foods and four...more
8/6/2021
/ Agribusiness ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Food Supply ,
Indictments ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Poultry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Retail Market
Avanos Medical, a global medical device company, agreed to pay $22 million to resolve criminal charges relating to its fraudulent misbranding of its MicroCool surgical gowns....more
A False Claims Act case can easily turn into a criminal prosecution. The Federal Bureau of Investigation often initiates criminal investigations as part of its commitment to reducing health care fraud....more
7/16/2021
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Bribery ,
Clinical Laboratories ,
Clinical Laboratory Testing ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Genetic Testing ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicare ,
Telemedicine
The False Claims Act is a powerful enforcement tool. The Justice Department with its partner agencies are ramping up enforcement efforts. The Biden DOJ is preparing to implement an aggressive FCA program across healthcare,...more
7/12/2021
/ Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Government Investigations ,
Kickbacks ,
OIG ,
Qui Tam