With the end of the Biden Administration, it is hard to identify a consistent theme relating to FCPA enforcement. On the one hand, the Biden Administration talked a big game, elevating the anti-corruption fight as a national...more
1/16/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Penalties ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
C.H. Robinson International Inc. (CHR), a Minnesota-based global transportation and logistics company, has agreed to pay $257,690 to settle civil liability for 82 apparent violations of sanctions against Iran and Cuba...more
1/14/2025
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cuba ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ports ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sanction Violations ,
Settlement ,
Shipping
How did a high-stakes bribery scheme involving insider deals, Airbus planes, and secret payments bring down a global aviation giant?
In this episode, Michael Volkov dives deep into the AAR Corporation FCPA case—a cautionary...more
Despite a relatively slow year in OFAC sanctions enforcement, OFAC closed 2024 with a string of settlements in five cases, including its second in 2024 against an individual defendant. While OFAC had a slow year, DOJ...more
1/9/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations
AAR, a provider of aviation products and services, engaged in two separate bribery schemes. State-owned entities and government agencies permeate the aviation industry. As a result, FCPA risks are embedded in direct...more
1/8/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Aviation Industry ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Fraud ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department and the SEC finished 2024 with a coordinated resolution of criminal and civil FCPA charges against AAR Corporation, an Illinois-based provider of aviation products and services. In addition, DOJ...more
What went wrong when McKinsey paid bribes to secure consulting contracts with South Africa's state-owned enterprises?
In this episode, Michael Volkov dives into the December 2024 DOJ settlement with McKinsey & Company,...more
In a far-reaching criminal case, in November 2024, the Justice Department unsealed a complex, five-count indictment in the Eastern District of New York charging eight defendants, including Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and...more
12/20/2024
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
Fraud ,
India ,
Indictments ,
Misleading Statements ,
Public Contracts ,
Solar Energy ,
White Collar Crimes
Deja Vu all over again — Yogi Berra Yogi Berra said it best — we have seen this scenario before, with similar parties — corrupt foreign officials from Eskom (and Transnet), local partner requirements resulting in engagement...more
The McKinsey FCPA case follows several other significant cases involving South Africa. ABB and SAP resolved FCPA cases involving bribes in South Africa; on the SEC front, Gartner resolved a bribery case involving South...more
On December 5, 2024, DOJ announced a settlement with McKinsey and Company for $122 million for bribes paid to South African government officials to secure valuable consulting contracts....more
12/18/2024
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s is playing catch up to the Criminal Division on compliance leadership. DOJ’s Criminal Division has issued four separate revisions to its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance...more
12/17/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Government Investigations ,
Tone At The Top ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
What happens when a Chief Executive Officer becomes the architect of a global bribery scheme?
In this episode of Corruption, Crime, and Compliance, Michael Volkov delivers an in-depth analysis of the BIT Mining FCPA case —...more
Bit Mining, formerly 500.com, was a doomed company from the beginning, When a CEO orchestrates a bribery scheme with the assistance of other senior executives, shareholders and the public have little chance of ensuring a...more
12/13/2024
/ Bitcoin ,
Bitcoin Mining ,
Bribery ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Popular ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations
In reviewing FCPA bribery fact patterns, it is a rare occasion when a company’s CEO is at the epicenter of the criminal conspiracy. In the BIT Mining case, standing atop all of the actors is the CEO Zhengming Pan, Bit...more
Earlier this year, Bit Mining and its CEO fell under the FCPA hammer. Bit Mining, formerly known as 500.com, resolved investigations with the Justice Department and the SEC for its corrupt scheme to bribe Japanese government...more
In an interesting political twist, the difference in approaches to antitrust enforcement between Democrat and Republican Administrations has been narrowing. It used to be that the difference in party control of the Antitrust...more
12/3/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Merger Controls ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Vertical Mergers
Have you ever wondered how different cultures and generations engage with a company's code of conduct? Do employees across the globe really follow ethical guidelines in the same way, or are there stark contrasts depending on...more
We continue to hear about the impact of apparent or real conflicts of interest — whether in government, in business, or in other organizations. It is an issue of significant importance. Within an organization, a perceived...more
You often hear chief compliance officers speak about benchmarking. CCOs often reveal their competitive streaks when they collect information about other companies’ compliance programs. It can easily come off as a little...more
The Justice Department’s record of FCPA enforcement in 2024 has been disappointing. With all of the hoopla and pronouncements surrounding the global war against corruption, DOJ suggested that enforcement in 2023 and 2024...more
We should all admit something (among many things) — reading through factual statements of bribery offenses, the facts all start to meld together. Criminals are not as ingenuous or creative as they think, and the schemes they...more
Telefónica Venezolana C.A. (“Telefónica Venezolana”), the Venezuela-based subsidiary of Telefónica S.A. (Telefónica), the Spanish telecommunications company entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) and agreed to...more
What happens when a major defense contractor faces scrutiny for ethics and compliance violations?
In this episode of Corruption, Crime, and Compliance, Michael Volkov dives into the high-stakes world of corporate...more
11/17/2024
/ Arms Export Control Act ,
Bribery ,
Defense Sector ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
ITAR ,
Raytheon ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statutory Violations
The Justice Department is about to undergo some fundamental changes. The 2nd Trump Administration will take some initial broad strokes designed to increase accountability and control of prosecutors and laws enforcement....more