The SEC’s FCPA enforcement action against WPP presents a number of important lessons learned, ranging from third-party risk management, properly responding to employee complaints and red flags, and failure to integrate...more
9/29/2021
/ Accounting Controls ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Risk ,
White Collar Crimes
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
After a long hiatus, the SEC announced a settlement with WPP plc, the world’s largest advertising group, for FCPA violations in India, China, Brazil and Peru for $19.2 million. The SEC’s resolution charges WPP with...more
9/27/2021
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Books & Records ,
Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Regulatory Violations ,
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
Well, we are still waiting for the “big” FCPA enforcement actions. Do not get me wrong – they are coming. My suspicion is that they are being held up and calculated with a splash to announce the results of the White House’s...more
The Justice Department suffered a terrible blow to its reputation during the financial crash in 2008 to 2009 for failing to criminally prosecute those individuals responsible for the financial misconduct. It was one of the...more
“The truest measure of an effective compliance program is how it responds to misconduct.”— FCPA Guidance (2d. ed 2020) -
This straight-forward statement (above) of a company’s commitment to its “effective” compliance...more
We all know and hear about third-party risks – over and over again. Despite this recurring theme, organizations continue to pay the price for failing to address third-party issues. It does not take a rocket scientist to...more
6/30/2021
/ Brazil ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Petrobras ,
Public Contracts ,
Risk Management ,
Settlement ,
Third-Party Risk ,
White Collar Crimes
FCPA settlement actions often underscore specific compliance risks for legal and compliance professionals. If there ever was a case where third-party risks were bungled, and even intentionally embraced, the Foster Wheeler...more
6/29/2021
/ Brazil ,
Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Petrobras ,
Public Contracts ,
Risk Management ,
Settlement ,
Third-Party Risk ,
White Collar Crimes
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
Over the last ten years, we have seen a steady increase in the coordination and cooperation among international prosecutors and law enforcement to prosecute bribery cases....more
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 National Security Division used the SAP comprehensive settlement of export control and sanctions violations to send a message – a loud and clear one....more
5/6/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Cloud Computing ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Software ,
Third-Party Service Provider
When reviewing factual reports of global corporate failures – be it FCPA, sanctions, export controls, or anti-money laundering schemes and systemic misconduct schemes – the story appears to follow a familiar pattern....more
5/4/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Software
We are surrounded by bias in a variety of contexts – news, politics, books and Internet information. Given the overwhelming amount of information, some find comfort in information supplied by sources with a bias. We have...more
Raymond Kohut, a 68-year old Canadian citizen, a former employee of Swiss commodities trader, Gunvor Group, Ltd., pleaded guilty to paying $22 million in bribes to Ecuadoran government officials at state-owned oil company,...more
Blog after blog, commentator after commentator, and everyone else who has an opinion has been repeating the same message – the Biden Administration is going to increase enforcement risks....more
3/10/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Biden Administration ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
White Collar Crimes
There is much to be learned from reviewing the wreckage of a major Justice Department enforcement action. It is helpful to identify these themes, analyze the conduct and reasons for the violation, and identify helpful...more
Deutsche Bank, the infamous German bank connected to former President Trump, settled FCPA and fraud cases with the Justice Department and the SEC, and agreed to pay a total of $130 million.
In this Episode, Michael Review...more
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
While my first posting highlighted the positive developments in the CCO’s role and professional development, the next two postings present troubling concerns....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’s ethics and compliance function faces numerous challenges. Deutsche Bank has a storied record of scandals, government enforcement actions and failures to abide by prior deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs)....more
1/27/2021
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corruption ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics ,
Failure to Comply ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
Internal Controls ,
Spoofing ,
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