As part of its continuing effort to encourage corporate voluntary disclosures, the Department of Justice announced revised voluntary disclosure policies applicable to mergers and acquisitions. In a speech at the recent...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission continues to rack up FCPA enforcement actions. In its latest settlement, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings agreed to pay $26.1 million for bribery violations committed by its former...more
The Albemarle FCPA enforcement action was announced at a good time. This year has been a slow year for DOJ’s FCPA enforcement program, although there are several months before the end of the year. The SEC, on the other hand,...more
10/4/2023
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Government Entities ,
Oil & Gas ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Relationships ,
White Collar Crimes
Albemarle’s bribery schemes look and sound like text-book examples of third-party agents being paid high commissions as a way to funnel bribery payments to foreign officials at state-owned oil refineries. However, as usual,...more
10/3/2023
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Entities ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Relationships ,
White Collar Crimes
Albemarle Corporation (Albemarle), a specialty chemicals manufacturing company located in Charlotte, North Carolina, agreed to pay more than $218 million to settle FCPA investigations with DOJ and the SEC stemming from...more
10/3/2023
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Forfeiture ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Oil & Gas ,
Penalties ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes
Emigrant Bank (“Emigrant”), a U.S.-based financial institution that bills itself as the oldest bank in New York City, is the latest sanctions violator to be swept up in OFAC’s ongoing enforcement push. On September 21, OFAC...more
On September 22, 2023, the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued its “Reminder to file your 2023 annual report of Blocked Property,” noting that entities or persons subject to the...more
The past few weeks have not been kind to 3M. The company recently settled with the SEC for $6.5 million to resolve alleged FCPA violations related to its Chinese subsidiary’s dealings with Chinese state-owned healthcare...more
9/28/2023
/ Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
General Licenses ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes
LRN’s annual Program Effectiveness Report is chock full of important findings. Frankly, LRN’s PEI Report is a “board worthy” report (as Donna Boehme used to say — every board member should read it)....more
The United States is determined to ensure that no one profits off of Russia’s war against Ukraine. To that end, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has widened the scope of its...more
Call me a skeptic. Call me cynical.
I understand that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) provides valuable standardization services and guidance. The ISO is comprised of 169 member countries....more
We all agree on the importance of corporate culture. Everyone gets it – corporate leaders mouth the words but rarely understand the nuances, and the need to attend to a company’s culture. Compliance professionals want to...more
The United States continues to suffer from the absence of a federal data privacy and breach law. Congress has tried for years to broker a deal here but has never been able to overcome strong lobbying forces — whether its...more
The marriage of corporate enforcement and national security has been a defining feature of the DOJ under the Biden Administration. The Justice Department’s commitment to prosecuting corporate crimes that implicate national...more
On September 27, 2023, the United States Department of Commerce’s Office of Antiboycott Compliance, a division of the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), publicized an unanticipated and relatively rare enforcement action...more
9/13/2023
/ Antiboycott Requirements ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Popular ,
US Trade Policies
The Justice Department has touted the upcoming wave of corporate prosecutions for criminal sanctions violation as the era of “The New FCPA.” DOJ’s reference is intended to communicate a strong message – companies are going to...more
9/12/2023
/ Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Goods or Services ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Sanction Violations
The Ethics and Compliance Initiative (“ECI”) is a terrific organization that provides important ethics and compliance insights and leadership. Starting in 1994, ECI has conducted a longitudinal, cross-section study of...more
The Justice Department’s Opinion Release procedure has provided important guidance over the years. The library of Opinion Release letters is well-organized and accessible to the legal and compliance community....more
The Antitrust Division has been active – like any aggressive prosecution strategy, however, its results have been mixed. Its record in criminal cases has taken serious hits – a stunning set of losses in the chicken...more
8/30/2023
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apotex ,
Competition ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Generic Drugs ,
Indictments ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Teva Pharmaceuticals
The SEC is having a good year in prosecuting FCPA cases. The SEC’s recent settlement with 3M Corp. for $6.5 million is its seventh corporate resolution for the year. DOJ, which has been relatively quiet so far this year,...more
8/29/2023
/ 3M Company ,
Anti-Corruption ,
China ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
Third-party relationships supporting core operations are now more important than ever for most organizations. Yet too often, procurement, information security, compliance, and other professionals are overburdened with the...more
Third-party relationships supporting core operations are now more important than ever for most organizations. Yet too often, procurement, information security, compliance, and other professionals are overburdened with the...more
Construction Specialties, Inc. (“CSI”), a U.S. company specializing in the sale of building materials, agreed to pay $660,594 to settle its liability for three violations of OFAC’s sanctions on Iran. CSI’s illegal conduct...more
8/24/2023
/ Compliance ,
Construction Industry ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Multinationals ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
White Collar Crimes
Corporate boards face a panoply of risks – and the nature of these risks are quickly evolving. Cybersecurity has quickly risen to the top of the list of corporate risks. Add to that the new SEC regulations on cybersecurity...more
8/22/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Board of Directors ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Innovative Technology ,
Machine Learning ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On July 31, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) formally charged the enigmatic crypto-personality Richard Heart (whose real name, as I learned from the complaint, is Richard Schueler) and his three...more
8/17/2023
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethereum ,
Financial Instruments ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Offerings ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities