The new DOJ Certification requirements certainly raise a number of new issues and risks for senior management and chief compliance officers. In Part I of this series, I outlined the specific language and the Plea Agreement...more
6/29/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Certification Requirements ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Global Market ,
Plea Agreements ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice continues to respond to the compliance community’s concerns about the new certification requirement adopted as part of the Glencore FCPA enforcement action. DOJ has adopted this new requirement to...more
6/28/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Certification Requirements ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Corporate Governance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Plea Agreements ,
Statutory Violations
The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) charged Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich with violating U.S. export controls by exporting U.S.-origin aircraft to Russia. In a precedent setting action,...more
6/23/2022
/ Asset Seizure ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Military Conflict ,
Russia ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Ukraine
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has had a rough year in the criminal arena. While the Antitrust Division has aggressively blocked several proposed mergers, it has lost several significant criminal cases. ...more
6/16/2022
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Collusion ,
Competition ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Investigations ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Money Laundering ,
Price-Fixing ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Sherman Act
Ericsson is having a tough time. First, in 2019, Ericsson settled FCPA charges with the Justice Department and the SEC for a total of $1 billion (with a B). Second, Ericsson had an independent compliance monitor appointed...more
6/15/2022
/ Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ericsson ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Internal Controls ,
Iraq ,
ISIS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
Terrorist Organizations
In following the Justice Department and the Securities Exchange Commission FCPA enforcement actions, I am always reminded of the popular phrase — “reading the tea leaves.” (or “tasseography,” a fortune-telling method based on...more
6/8/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department has resumed FCPA enforcement with a bang. The new enforcement approach has been unveiled and the message for CCOs and corporate business leaders is clear — anti-corruption compliance should be a...more
6/6/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Spoofing ,
White Collar Crimes
Glencore’s settlement with DOJ and the CFTC revealed a plethora of manipulative, deceptive and corrupt conduct, which spanned from at least 2007 to 2018 and occurred in the United States and global oil markets, including...more
6/3/2022
/ CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivatives ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Market Manipulation ,
Oil & Gas ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department has been promising a new, more aggressive approach to FCPA enforcement. DOJ officials have made statements to that effect on numerous occasions. The Biden Administration touted its elevation of the...more
In a long-anticipated and major enforcement action, the Justice Department and the Commodities and Futures Exchange Commission resolved a sprawling investigation with Glencore International A.G. and Glencore Ltd, a...more
5/27/2022
/ Bribery ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Market Manipulation ,
Mining ,
White Collar Crimes
In a blockbuster settlement, DOJ unleashed its full power against Allianz Global and key portfolio managers responsible for a massive, long running fraud scheme involving a series of private investment funds managed by...more
5/25/2022
/ Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Indictments ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Settlement Agreements ,
White Collar Crimes
In a homecoming speech, DOJ’s Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite gave a rousing speech to a room full of compliance professionals at the annual Compliance Week meeting in Washington, D.C. AAG Polite, who has served as...more
Hold onto your hats – while we are on the cusp of more FCPA enforcement actions, the Justice Department and OFAC are gearing up for real and significant sanctions enforcement actions. The dye is cast, so here we go. ...more
5/11/2022
/ Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Military Conflict ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Russia ,
Ukraine ,
White Collar Crimes
In the FCPA and white collar defense community, we have seen buckets and buckets of ink spilled on the coming wave of aggressive enforcement. Justice Department officials have made so many statements about the “new” approach...more
5/9/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
White Collar Crimes
The Stericycle FCPA case is yet another example of a complete culture and compliance breakdown. As I often repeat myself, there is no more important control than an ethical culture. When a culture veers into the unethical...more
The Justice Department ended its FCPA enforcement drought by announcing its first corporate settlement in 2022. In a parallel action, the SEC announced its settlement with Stericycle for $28 million for FCPA violations. The...more
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has suffered setbacks in recent months. Prior to these recent cases, DOJ’s Antitrust Division secured some significant trial victories, including Bumble Bee’s former CEO Chris...more
4/20/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bumble Bee Foods ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Price-Fixing ,
Wage-Fixing ,
White Collar Crimes
Federal prosecutors know that their job – to represent the United States – is the highlight of their legal career. Speaking from experience, federal prosecutors are a privileged lot – they can announce in court they represent...more
The Biden Administration’s Department of Justice has promised aggressive white collar enforcement. On the flip side, the DOJ has recognized the importance of effective ethics and compliance programs. In an interesting...more
Well, we all know the familiar repetitive life experiences from the movie Groundhog Day, or as I like to say it, Déjà vu All Over Again. DOJ emphasizes over and over the importance of prosecuting individuals for criminal...more
The Justice Department announced the arrest and indictment of Charles Hunter Hobson for violating the FCPA, money laundering and receiving kickbacks arising from a bribery scheme to pay government officials in Egypt in...more
4/5/2022
/ Bribery ,
Coal Industry ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Indictments ,
Kickbacks ,
Money Laundering ,
Wire Fraud
The Justice Department continues its enforcement “silence” with no major corporate prosecutions announced this year. It is an interesting question but it appears that the wheels have ground to a halt, with one major...more
4/4/2022
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice criminal prosecution of Mark Forkner, chief technical pilot at Boeing responsible for the 737 Max, ended in quick acquittal. DOJ prosecutors suffered an embarrassing loss in an attempt to hold...more
3/29/2022
/ Acquittals ,
Aircraft ,
Airplane Accidents ,
Aviation Industry ,
Boeing ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Jury Trial ,
Wire Fraud
The Justice Department continues to prosecute Russian-related crimes. Since the Ukraine Crisis, DOJ has steadily been announcing criminal charges against defendants connected to Russia. ...more
In another action targeting Russian actors and connections, the Justice Department indicted Elena Branson, a dual United States-Russian national with criminal evasion of Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) registration...more
3/17/2022
/ Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Evasion ,
Foreign Agents ,
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Indictments ,
Lobbying ,
Lobbyists ,
National Security ,
Russia ,
Statutory Violations ,
White Collar Crimes