Happy New Year!
Another year is in the books for FCPA enforcement and compliance. The headline for this past year (like many other years) is/was – The more things change, the more they stay the same....more
1/3/2019
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Panasonic ,
Petrobras ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
As companies seek to attract talented employees in a competitive market, Human Resource officers have to be aware of and avoid serious potential antitrust risks. The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has put everyone...more
The 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal (“1MDB scandal”) has been making headlines for the past few years. The turning point for US prosecutors was the cooperation of Malaysian law enforcement and the corruption allegations...more
11/6/2018
/ Accounting Controls ,
Bonds ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Indictments ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment Funds ,
Kickbacks ,
Money Laundering ,
Popular ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division had a slow year in criminal antitrust cases. There are a number of explanations for the slowdown in criminal cases – the most persuasive is that such a slowdown is part of normal...more
11/1/2018
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Indictments ,
Japan ,
Plea Agreements ,
Price-Fixing ,
Technology Sector ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department’s commitment – resources and public statements – has continued at a steady pace in the Trump Administration. Some might diminish the effort by recognizing that fraud is so pervasive that it is like...more
10/24/2018
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicare ,
Opioid ,
Pain Management ,
Patient Referrals ,
Physicians ,
Plea Agreements ,
Stark Law ,
TRICARE
When it comes to a poster-child for corrupt organizations, there is very little competition that can eclipse Petrobas, the Brazilian state-owned oil and gas company. ...more
10/3/2018
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Brazil ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Oil & Gas ,
Petrobras ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Political Corruption ,
Remediation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
White Collar Crimes
Criminal prosecutors understand the importance of cooperating witness to the criminal justice system. Cooperating witnesses are vital to the criminal justice system because they are in the unique position of explaining to a...more
The Justice Department’s attempt to assert broad jurisdiction over foreign nationals was rebuked in a recent US Court of Appeals decision in United States v. Hoskins....more
9/5/2018
/ Alstom ,
Appeals ,
Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Government Officials ,
Public Contracts ,
Statutory Violations ,
Utilities Sector ,
White Collar Crimes
There is no universal definition of corruption. Frankly, the term can be narrowly defined to focus on bribery or it can be given a wider application, extending to abuse of power. Transparency International defines...more
The Justice Department has continued to pursue healthcare fraud and bribery criminal prosecutions. Healthcare fraud remains a high priority for criminal enforcement....more
8/15/2018
/ Bribery ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
RICO ,
White Collar Crimes
The sentencing of criminal defendants continues to create controversy. There are so many categories of crime and ranges of punishment – the issue always calls for difficult judgments and inevitably results in vigorous...more
There are two distinct themes in FCPA enforcement – the first is consistency, i.e., that some enforcement actions are relatively consistent across the board and, in the last five to ten years, the FCPA caseload has been...more
7/16/2018
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Monitoring ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Remediation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
White Collar Crimes
We live in a bizarre time — an information age where lines are blurred between truth and lies — a strange era in which our daily doses of information are dominated by scandals, corruption, and repeated claims of “fake news.” ...more
5/23/2018
/ C-Suite Executives ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Ethics ,
Internal Controls ,
Tone At The Top ,
White Collar Crimes
We all know the saying – A fish rots from the head. Sometimes a clear and simple statement says it all. The Volkswagen diesel emissions cheating scandal is yet another example of C-Suite, even CEO, misconduct....more
5/16/2018
/ Automotive Industry ,
CEOs ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Ethics ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Volkswagen ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
The Panasonic Avionics (PAC) FCPA enforcement settlement for $280 million with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission contains a number of important lessons learned. ...more
5/9/2018
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Aviation Industry ,
Books & Records ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Panasonic ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes
As the nattering nabobs of negativism continued to claim that FCPA enforcement was on the decline, the Justice Department and the SEC settled a major FCPA enforcement action with Panasonic Avionics (PAC), a subsidiary of...more
5/8/2018
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Aviation Industry ,
Books & Records ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Panasonic ,
White Collar Crimes
The Supreme Court ruled in a criminal tax case, Marinello v. United States, that a criminal tax obstruction of justice was overly broad. ...more
Last week, the Justice Department announced its first FCPA enforcement action in 2018 – a follow-on settlement from prior FCPA enforcement actions centering on a bribery scheme involving a Russian government official from a...more
3/21/2018
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Officials ,
Indictments ,
Money Laundering ,
Russia ,
Shell Corporations ,
Uranium ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
KPMG has been taking it on the chin lately – and apparently for good reason. KPMG is enmeshed in an unfolding corruption scandal in South Africa. Add to that the indictment last week of five individuals (four KPMG employees...more
1/30/2018
/ Audits ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Financial Statements ,
Fraud ,
Government Investigations ,
Indictments ,
KPMG ,
PCAOB ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice finished 2017 with two significant FCPA enforcement actions, and fittingly, one was a corporate settlement and another was an individual criminal guilty plea. The Justice Department’s final FCPA...more
1/5/2018
/ Aviation Industry ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Embraer ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Kickbacks ,
Offshore Drilling ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice announced criminal FCPA charges against two individuals in connection with bribery payments to foreign officials in Chad and Uganda. The Justice Department’s announcement occurred on the heels of...more
11/27/2017
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Money Laundering ,
NGOs ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
United Nations ,
White Collar Crimes
The healthcare industry continues to be a frequent target for criminal prosecutions. More importantly, federal prosecutors are ready, willing and able to bring criminal cases against C-Suite actors involved in healthcare...more
The growth of global enforcement systems raises important policy issues and risks for enforcement authorities. In an interesting case, US v. Allen and Conti, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed criminal convictions...more
8/3/2017
/ Bank Fraud ,
Banking Sector ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Interest Rates ,
Libor ,
Price Manipulation ,
Price-Fixing ,
UK ,
Wire Fraud
The Justice Department’s continuing lack of individual criminal prosecutions in the FCPA arena continues to raise serious questions. DOJ’s issuance of the Yates memorandum was seen as a new and important reiteration of DOJ’s...more
7/11/2017
/ Antitrust Division ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
General Motors ,
Volkswagen ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yates Memorandum
When you look outside the FCPA arena and examine DOJ criminal prosecutions in healthcare, antitrust, tax, fraud, and other white-collar areas, there is no shortage of cases against individual violators. I am perplexed, to say...more
7/6/2017
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Bribery ,
Clinical Laboratories ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Honest Services Fraud ,
Money Laundering ,
Patient Referrals ,
Physicians ,
Price-Fixing ,
Shipping ,
Travel Act ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud