Companies have definitely matured in the development and implementation of their ethics and compliance programs. Whether the pace has been rapid enough or is too slow, that is a debatable issue. A good litmus test for a...more
10/9/2018
/ Bribery ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Internal Controls ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes
When you read through the United Technologies SEC FCPA enforcement action, you cannot help but shake your head – the level of abuse and participation by senior managers in the UT companies – Pratt & Whitney and Otis Elevator...more
The SEC’s FCPA Unit had a good week last week – they announced a second FCPA settlement along with the Sanofi case. The latest to fall was United Technologies that agreed to pay $13.9 million for bribes paid by its elevator...more
9/19/2018
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Officials ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Relationships ,
White Collar Crimes
Well, add another pharmaceutical company to the FCPA healthcare “sweep.” Frankly, the term “sweep” makes it sound like a coordinated enforcement effort – instead, it is more accurate to think of it as multiple prosecutions...more
9/18/2018
/ Books & Records ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Internal Controls ,
Kickbacks ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Reimbursements ,
Sanofi ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes
Several years ago (or in the recent past as some would say), pre-acquisition due diligence was a major compliance focus for global companies that grew through aggressive merger and acquisition strategies. ...more
9/13/2018
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Code of Conduct ,
Compliance ,
Due Diligence ,
Ethics ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Internal Controls ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Successor Liability ,
White Collar Crimes
Global companies that grow through a deliberate merger and acquisition strategy continue to face significant anti-corruption risks. The list of FCPA enforcement actions includes numerous examples of companies that settled...more
The compliance world, like business in general, is being inundated with “trends” and claims of “new technology” that inevitably (is or) will transform our economy. There is no question that artificial intelligence holds...more
FCPA enforcement in the first half of 2018 continued at a steady pace. The first half of 2018 included several significant corporate and individual prosecutions for FCPA violations. Tom Fox and Michael Volkov review FCPA...more
Companies are hyper-focused on third-party risks, especially when it comes to anti-corruption risks. And for good reason – a large percentage of FCPA enforcement actions involve illegal use of third parties to carry out...more
The cryptocurrency market is exciting to watch. Based on the revolutionary blockchain distributed ledger system, cryptocurrencies have exploded on the marketplace. As with any new “gold rush” to hit a market, cryptocurrency...more
7/5/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Ethereum ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency
An increasing number of chief compliance officers report directly on a monthly basis to the Chief Executive Officer. As the compliance profession has earned independence and empowerment, CCOs are now part of the C-Suite and...more
The Justice Department added to its roster of criminal FCPA defendants. Going back to 2017, it is clear that the Yates Memorandum requirements have resulted in an increase in criminal FCPA prosecutions....more
6/1/2018
/ Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Indictments ,
Kickbacks ,
Money Laundering ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Rolls-Royce
Research has consistently demonstrated that an ethical corporate culture results in increased profits and sustainable growth. Companies with a positive culture have lower rates of employee misconduct, increased employee...more
The fundamental principle of SEC’s market regulation is the power of sunshine, transparency and disclosure. In other words, the SEC seeks to ensure that companies disclose important information to the public so that...more
When a company learns that the government is investigating the company's activities, a company has to move quickly to respond to the government and engage prosecutors about the investigation. Depending on how the company...more
Global banks have been the focus of enforcement actions, focusing on AML and sanctions violations. With the new beneficial ownership regulations effective May 11, 2018, we are about to see a significant transformation in AML...more
4/19/2018
/ Banking Sector ,
Beneficial Owner ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Internal Controls ,
Money Laundering ,
Popular ,
Rabobank ,
Risk Assessment ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
US Bancorp
Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, are exploding on the marketplace. Cryptocurrencies are promising huge technological advances in our economy by relying on the new blockchain technology.
Initial coin offerings raised...more
When new technologies appear on the scene, Washington regulation is sure to follow. The exact configuration can take years to sort out, especially when it comes to financial products, given the labyrinth of regulatory bodies...more
3/28/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
Virtual Currency
The FCPA includes a specific requirement that a public company maintain an adequate set of internal controls. A company's compliance program is one component of a company's internal controls. Sarbanes-Oxley expended and...more
Cybersecurity compliance, like the compliance profession, is rapidly growing. The forces pushing cyber compliance are two-fold: the ever-increasing and changing nature of cyber threats and harms, and the logical application...more
2/22/2018
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Management ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Hackers ,
Internet of Things ,
Malware ,
Phishing Scams ,
Popular ,
Risk Management
The Justice Department announced a guilty plea by a subsidiary of Rabobank, a Dutch global bank, to a conspiracy to violate money laundering laws and obstruct a regulatory investigation of Rabobank’s activities in California....more
2/20/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
OCC ,
Popular ,
Rabobank ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
The nightmare scenario for corporate boards and senior executives revolves around the impact of a major data breach. We have seen this first hand with Equifax, Anthem Healthcare, and Target, as prime examples. In the Equifax...more
In January 2018, the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission announced criminal and civil charges against five KPMG and a Public Company Accounting Oversight Board employee arising from sharing of...more
The New York Department of Financial Services has adopted detailed cybersecurity regulations for financial institutions. (Here). The NYDFS has filled a vacuum created by the failure of the federal government to act in this...more
1/31/2018
/ Banking Sector ,
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Financial Institutions ,
Hackers ,
NYDFS ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party Risk
Global companies are getting compliance overload, especially when it comes to third party risks. As we have seen over the years, third-party risk management involves significant risks on anti-corruption, AML, fraud,...more