The Justice Department and the Securities Exchange Commission are back in business.
The first corporate FCPA enforcement action in 2021 came after a six-month hiatus in 2021. While many commentators sought to read the...more
6/28/2021
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Brazil ,
Bribery ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The scandal emanating from the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad fund (1MDB) continues to ripple through criminal law enforcement and criminal prosecutions. ...more
6/15/2021
/ 1MDB ,
Campaign Contributions ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Embezzlement ,
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Indictments ,
Malaysia ,
Money Laundering ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Trump Administration ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department continues to pile up victories out of the world soccer FIFA federation bribery scandal. Julius Baer Group, the Swiss banker, agreed to a three-year, deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and to pay...more
6/4/2021
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Money Laundering ,
Soccer ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice is starting to launch its FCPA enforcement profile after a brief lull in DOJ’s transition to a new administration. This enforcement lull occurred in the transition to the prior administration in...more
6/2/2021
/ Banks ,
Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Odebrecht ,
Offshore Banks ,
Shell Corporations ,
Tax Evasion ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department’s criminal prosecution of the chicken producing industry took another significant turn. Step-by-step, the Antitrust Division is building a large and comprehensive criminal prosecution of a significant...more
Federal prosecutors take an oath to execute their duties faithfully. Yet, like all professions, some federal prosecutors have violated this oath. For years, prosecutorial misconduct has come under heightened scrutiny. Do not...more
3/3/2021
/ Commerzbank ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Evidence ,
Evidence Codes ,
Failure To Disclose ,
FBI ,
Federal Prosecutors ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Legal Ethics ,
Money Laundering ,
Prosecutorial Abuse ,
White Collar Crimes
The Biden Administration has a lot on its plate – that is obvious. Tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and restoring economic growth is one of the most difficult challenges ever facing our country....more
2/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Ethics ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Reform ,
White Collar Crimes
Boeing’s long and tragic scandal surrounding its 737 MAX safety concerns and FAA disclosure violations has come to an end....more
In 2020, the Justice Department brought criminal charges against 22 individuals in FCPA-related investigations. While this was a decline from the two preceding years, COVID-19 had a dramatic impact on criminal FCPA...more
1/29/2021
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
DAPA ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
South Korea ,
White Collar Crimes
Deutsche Bank, the infamous German bank connected to President Trump, settled FCPA and fraud cases with the Justice Department and the SEC, and agreed to pay a total of $130 million....more
1/26/2021
/ Books & Records ,
Commodities ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Disgorgement ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
Futures ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Spoofing ,
Third-Party Risk
Bear with me for a second, but remember Presidential Candidate Romney’s statement in 2011 that “Corporations are people.” Starting with that premise, my so-called “Person” of the Year award for 2020 goes to, drumroll . . ....more
1/13/2021
/ 1MDB ,
Bonds ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Ethical Standards ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Malaysia ,
Regulatory Violations ,
White Collar Crimes
Well, it is that time again. I get to put on my Carnac the Magnificent Hat and offer my FCPA predictions for 2021.
I should get a pass on my 2020 FCPA Predictions posting because no one could have anticipated the COVID-19...more
We all have been following the rapid growth of cryptocurrency and the creation of lucrative trading platforms. Cryptocurrency has earned the scrutiny of regulators and criminal prosecutors – not for run-of-the-mill fraud...more
The Justice Department continues to produce FCPA resolutions in a record year for enforcement. The latest, and perhaps the beginning of several end-of-year and end of the Trump Administration resolutions, is DOJ’s settlement...more
12/8/2020
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Ecuador ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Oil & Gas ,
Petrobras ,
White Collar Crimes
The breadth of Goldman Sachs’ corruption in the recent DOJ and SEC FCPA enforcement action underscored the important global goal of reducing corruption. It goes without saying – corruption has a pernicious impact on economic...more
11/11/2020
/ 1MDB ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Malaysia ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
Goldman Sachs now sits atop all charts with the largest US FCPA bribery penalty, totaling approximately $2.9 billion. The second largest is Ericsson’s 2019 FCPA settlement for $1 billion....more
10/27/2020
/ 1MDB ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Malaysia ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department finally closed out its investigation of Goldman Sachs’ massive bribery scheme involving Malaysia’s 1MDB fund. The case is now the largest in US FCPA history (based on its payment to DOJ and related US...more
10/26/2020
/ 1MDB ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Malaysia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
J&F Investmentos SA (“J&F), a Brazilian private investment company, plead guilty to FCPA bribery violations in federal court in Brooklyn, New York. As part of the plea agreement, J&F agreed to pay a fine of $256 million and...more
10/20/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department announced a major expansion of its ongoing investigation and prosecution of executives and employees in the boiler chicken price-fixing conspiracy....more
10/13/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Food Supply ,
Indictments ,
Poultry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Retail Market ,
Suppliers ,
Tyson Foods
The former deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee and prominent fundraiser for President Trump has agreed to plead guilty with lobbying on behalf of Jho Low, an indicted and fugitive financier, who was...more
10/12/2020
/ 1MDB ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Agents ,
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Lobbying ,
Political Committees ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
White Collar Crimes
A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York returned an indictment against Javier Aguilar, an oil trader at Vitol, an energy and commodity trading company, for his role in a five-year international bribery and...more
9/28/2020
/ Arrest Warrants ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Ecuador ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Indictments ,
Money Laundering ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
White Collar Crimes
In the last five years, the Justice Department and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission have aggressively prosecuted “spoofing” cases. While the government’s record in these cases has been mixed, the government has...more
9/17/2020
/ CFTC ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Market Manipulation ,
Popular ,
Price Manipulation ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Securities Violations ,
Spoofing ,
Traders ,
White Collar Crimes
DOJ’s Antitrust Division is increasing criminal antitrust enforcement. After two relatively slow years of criminal enforcement, the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program is steadily increasing....more
9/9/2020
/ Antitrust Division ,
Bid Rigging ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Goods or Services ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Indictments ,
Kickbacks ,
Shell Corporations
Criminal investigations and enforcement programs ebb and flow – not necessarily because of a lack of initiative or some intentional slowdown. Cases take time to investigate and prosecute....more
9/8/2020
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
White Collar Crimes
Herbalife’s FCPA settlement is another one for books – the wreckage left includes two criminal indictments for Chinese officials who may never be apprehended, along with $123 million in penalties....more
9/3/2020
/ Bribery ,
China ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Herbalife ,
Meals-Gifts-and Entertainment Rules ,
Popular ,
White Collar Crimes