When you survey business leaders on significant risks, they invariably cite cybersecurity as number one and anti-corruption as number two. For global businesses, this makes total sense. Cyber-crime damage is estimated to...more
1/24/2018
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Information Technology ,
Popular ,
Risk Management
FCPA enforcement continued in 2017 with an increased emphasis on individual enforcement. Despite early questions as to the new administration's commitment to FCPA enforcement, the Justice Department and the SEC continued to...more
The Department of Justice announced criminal FCPA charges against two individuals in connection with bribery payments to foreign officials in Chad and Uganda. The Justice Department’s announcement occurred on the heels of...more
11/27/2017
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Money Laundering ,
NGOs ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
United Nations ,
White Collar Crimes
An effective ethics and compliance program requires a careful assessment of risks and existing controls. In order to design and implement an effective program, a chief compliance officer has to identify and prioritize...more
In the aftermath of the Panama Papers scandal and increased focus on shell companies and hidden ownership interests, US enforcement and regulatory agencies are increasing focus on beneficial ownership of related entities. In...more
The Ukraine-Russia Sanctions program is a complex set of executives orders, statutes and regulations defining prohibited business transactions with Russian entities and individuals. The sanctions program was instituted in...more
The Department of Justice's approach to criminal prosecution of corporations and individuals has evolved over the last 20 years. Beginning with the traditional model of building criminal cases, brick-by-brick, by...more
Recently, the Justice Department announced the arrest of Joseph Baptiste as part of an ongoing investigation into corruption in Haiti. The arrest warrant affidavit outlines an undercover investigation, including Title III...more
The False Claims Act is the government’s weapon of choice in fighting healthcare fraud. In the beginning of the Obama Administration, Congress amended the False Claims Act and enacted a wish list from DOJ prosecutors.
...more
For some reason, I have always believed that picking successful stocks should not be very difficult. Unfortunately, my record in the stock market does not back up my self-assessment.
On the other hand, when it comes to...more
At a recent conference of the high-tech industry, an IBM representative provided a presentation on blockchain technology and the application to compliance programs. It was a fascinating presentation. Maybe I am coming to the...more
Global companies face a daunting array of risks – anti-corruption, trade compliance, antitrust, and money laundering are just a few. The European Union, however, has escalated the data privacy issue right into the corporate...more
A CEO never expects to be wiretapped. Let’s face it – a wiretap in the C-Suite is rare. Justice Department prosecutors have always looked for an opportunity. CEOs have loose lips and can suffer significant damage from...more
4/19/2017
/ Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Government Officials ,
Netherlands ,
Nigeria ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Reserves ,
Popular ,
Shell Oil ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wiretapping
Earlier this year, in January 2017, Western Union entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the Justice Department and the FTC, and agreed to pay $586 in forfeiture to settle anti-money laundering and consumer fraud...more
4/6/2017
/ BSA/AML ,
Corporate Culture ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Transfer ,
Popular ,
Western Union ,
Wire Fraud
We all enjoy an oxymoron, e.g., army intelligence, compassionate conservative. Some words go together and some do not. When it comes to compliance and private equity companies, you can predict with usual success that private...more
The first FCPA enforcement action for 2017 landed with very little fanfare. The SEC reached a settlement with Mondelez International for $13 million. The facts surround the hiring of an agent in India and the failure of...more
1/17/2017
/ Books & Records ,
Bribery ,
Cadbury ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
India ,
Internal Controls ,
Kraft ,
Popular ,
Prosecutorial Discretion ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Third-Party Agents ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
We begin the New Year with a three-part series on the FCPA: (1) A review of FCPA enforcement in 2016; (2) Trends from 2016 FCPA enforcement; and (3) Predictions for FCPA enforcement in 2017....more
1/5/2017
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Cell Phones ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Embraer ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Och-Ziff ,
Penalties ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sons And Daughters ,
Telecommunications ,
Teva Pharmaceuticals ,
VimpelCom ,
White Collar Crimes
Now that the dust has settled on this turbulent campaign season, everyone is in the prediction game, especially when it comes to FCPA enforcement. It is easy to make predictions of significant change. It is easy to take...more
11/14/2016
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
AT&T ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Presidential Elections ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Time Warner ,
Trump Administration ,
White Collar Crimes
If you work in compliance in the healthcare industry, you have a tough job. The number and variety of risks that healthcare providers face is daunting. The False Claims Act is a mighty weapon in the hands of federal...more
10/25/2016
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Corporate Integrity Agreement ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hospitals ,
Kickbacks ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Medicaid ,
Popular ,
Settlement ,
Tenet Healthcare ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
Compliance and enforcement headlines have focused on the Wells Fargo scandal. And for good reason.
On September 8, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Comptroller of the Currency and the Los Angeles...more
10/19/2016
/ Bank Accounts ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Code of Conduct ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corruption ,
Cross-Selling ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Fraud ,
Popular ,
Tone At The Top ,
Wells Fargo ,
Yates Memorandum
If you review the last ten years of FCPA enforcement, the unmistakable pattern is rising expectations with regard to corporate compliance programs, particularly with regard to third party due diligence and risk management....more
10/18/2016
/ Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Diligence ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Och-Ziff ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party ,
White Collar Crimes
The Wells Fargo scandal represents a textbook case of compliance and culture failures. Recently, the scandal and Wells Fargo’s defensive crisis management strategy resulted in CEO Stumpf’s resignation. Stumpf’s demise was...more
10/17/2016
/ Bank Accounts ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Corporate Culture ,
Cross-Selling ,
Fraud ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Popular ,
Tone At The Top ,
Wells Fargo
The Och-Ziff settlement has now set the stage for the Justice Department and the SEC to focus its enforcement eye on the private equity and hedge fund industry. The Och-Ziff action was initiated in response to the SEC’s...more
10/12/2016
/ Books & Records ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Democratic Republic of Congo ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Officials ,
Hedge Funds ,
Internal Controls ,
Joint Venture ,
Libya ,
Och-Ziff ,
Popular ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Sovereign Wealth Funds ,
Transaction Monitoring ,
White Collar Crimes
The Och-Ziff enforcement action is replete with examples of failures in due diligence and transaction monitoring compliance. Och-Ziff’s bribery schemes were elaborate and intricate and involved complex transactions,...more
10/11/2016
/ Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Democratic Republic of Congo ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Diligence ,
Foreign Official ,
Investment ,
Joint Venture ,
Libya ,
Mining ,
Och-Ziff ,
Popular ,
Sovereign Wealth Funds
The Justice Department and the Securities Exchange Commission delivered a powerful FCPA enforcement message to private equity and hedge funds. Och-Ziff settled with the DOJ and SEC for total penalties of $412 million....more
10/10/2016
/ Africa ,
Books & Records ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Democratic Republic of Congo ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Officials ,
Hedge Funds ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment ,
Libya ,
Och-Ziff ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sovereign Wealth Funds ,
White Collar Crimes