The Justice Department promised aggressive enforcement of export controls and sanctions against Russia. To that end, DOJ initiated the KleptoCapture task force to focus law enforcement investigations of export violators. ...more
The Antitrust Division announced last year that it intended to reinvigorate enforcement of Section 8 of the Clayton Act, which prohibits directors and officers serving simultaneously on the boards of competitors (with limited...more
The Justice Department continues to push an aggressive agenda against businesses. It is committed to demonstrating its resolve to prosecute companies and individuals from the business community. Whether it is antitrust,...more
10/27/2022
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fines ,
Forfeiture ,
ISIS ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
Terrorist Organizations
The Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued a finding of violation (“FoV”) to Nodus International Bank, Inc. (“Nodus”), located in Puerto Rico, for violation of Venezuelan Sanctions. Nordus...more
On October 11, 2022, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) announced settlement agreements with Bittrex, Inc. (“Bittrex”), a cryptocurrency exchange based in...more
On September 30, 2022, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) announced a settlement with Tango Card, Inc. (“Tango Card”), a supplier and distributor of stored valued...more
In the legal and compliance space, it is easy to ignore significant incidents involving domestic bribery and fraud. We are fixated on FCPA foreign bribery cases, as well as domestic healthcare fraud, anti-kickback violations...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s bread-and-butter enforcement actions focus on accounting fraud. The SEC has a long history in uncovering fraudulent financial reporting schemes. In the early 2000s, Wall Street was...more
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has demonstrated its ability to multi-task — designing, implementing and enforcing a comprehensive sanctions regime against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, and maintaining...more
In a significant action, the Justice Department brought criminal charges against the notorious Russian Oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, for sanctions evasion and obstruction of justice. DOJ also charged three associates, Natalya...more
10/5/2022
/ Criminal Conspiracy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Destruction of Evidence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
High Net-Worth ,
Indictments ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List
Oracle’s SEC settlement for $23 million underscores the power of the FCPA provisions mandating effective internal controls and accurate books and records. As everyone knows, these provisions can be applied to a wide-range of...more
10/4/2022
/ Books & Records ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Oracle ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Third-Party Risk
Oracle Corporation settled its second FCPA case in ten years. Oracle agreed to pay $23 million to resolve allegations that its subsidiaries in Turkey, India and the United Arab Emirates maintained slush funds to bribe...more
GOL’s bribery schemes present some interesting lessons. Interestingly, at the center of the bribery scheme was a member of GOL’s board of directors.
The bribery scheme was motivated by potential legislation that would...more
The Justice Department is continuing to use criminal enforcement as an important tool in the fight against healthcare fraud. While the False Claims Act continues its important place in the fight against healthcare fraud, DOJ...more
9/16/2022
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Indictments ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare
The Biden Administration warned the healthcare industry that it would aggressively prosecute fraud cases. The Justice Department is executing on that promise and doing so with great success. Week after week, we read about...more
9/15/2022
/ Bayer ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Life Sciences ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular
The Justice Department announced the indictment in New York of Cary Yan, a Chinese entrepreneur, and Gina Zhou, his assistant, on FCPA and money laundering charges relating to a scheme to secure control of an atoll owned by...more
9/6/2022
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Indictments ,
Marshall Islands ,
Money Laundering ,
White Collar Crimes
The Commerce Department has adjusted its export control enforcement program. The Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) announced the new administrative policies and gave notice to the industry and public. BIS is now...more
8/17/2022
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Commerce Control List ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
ZTE
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district judge’s post-conviction dismissal of FCPA counts against Lawrence Hoskins, a former Alston executive, for his involvement in bribery scheme to secure a $118 million...more
A basic truism — you do not want to become the subject of a Justice Department investigation. The wheels of justice — prosecutors and law enforcement — can cause real harm to organizations and individuals that violate the...more
8/15/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Popular ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
Some may dismiss OFAC’s recent announcement last week that it issued a Finding of Violation to MidFirst Bank for violations of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators sanctions regulations as insignificant because OFAC...more
The D.C Circuit Court of Appeals sits in a unique position as the primary reviewing court for federal government agency actions. As a result, the D.C. Circuit sits in a high-profile position and several judges have...more
7/27/2022
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Common Carriers ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
FedEx ,
Foreign Policy ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Strict Liability ,
Ultra Vires
Since its last enforcement action against Banco Popular in late May, OFAC has been quiet on the enforcement front. Notwithstanding its silence, OFAC has been managing a robust and complex coordinated economic sanctions...more
7/26/2022
/ American Express ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Sanctions ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List
When it comes to the healthcare sector, the Justice Department and the HHS-Office of Inspector General have no shortage of investigations and targets for prosecution. The more resources made available to DOJ and HHS-OIG, the...more
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 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