Compliance understanding of business processes is a critical part of understanding internal controls and a company’s risk profile. Compliance officers are adept in identifying and assessing risks. In doing so, a compliance...more
You can draft and design the best ethics and compliance program – and then fail. You can show every compliance professional an “effective” set of ethics and compliance controls, pristine, drafted elegantly, addressing each...more
Ethics and compliance has to stand strong when new trends suddenly spring up. Organizations are always ready to embrace the new-fangled shiny object – in this case ESG....more
A good lawyer knows the law; a clever one takes the judge to lunch. — Mark Twain -
Lawyers get a bad rap – not just as the subject of lawyer jokes. (This is not an invitation to recite lawyer jokes)....more
The COVID-19 pandemic uncovered the fragility of business operations – within the space of weeks, companies were forced to adjust to distribution channel and supply chain disruptions, workplace closings, and a virtual...more
The success of a compliance program depends on a number of factors. Perhaps one of the most important factors is the strength of the relationship between compliance professionals and business. Compliance depends on business...more
Chief compliance officers (CCOs) are talented professionals. As Donna Boehme always emphasizes, CCOs are subject matter experts (SMEs) in compliance risks, controls and mitigation. CCOs focus on legal and compliance risks...more
3/17/2021
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Management ,
Risk Management ,
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) ,
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
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
Whew! 2020 is over and we can start the New Year with hope – a fresh approach to restoring life “as it was before.” It is hard to imagine life before 2019 because no matter what – we have been changed forever....more
In 2020, the Justice Department did not insist on the appointment of any independent compliance monitors. The year before, in 2019, DOJ insisted on the appointment of three independent corporate monitors – MTS...more
If ever there was a year that challenged corporate leaders on their commitment to business ethics, 2020 was the year. The number of difficult issues facing corporate leaders were challenging and ran the gamut – from health...more
It is always interesting to watch the flow of risk management trends, particularly as they impact ethics and compliance issues. Financial companies have been the target of regulatory enforcement actions for risk management...more
Banking regulators, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve, recently collected a $400 million civil penalty against Citigroup for long-standing deficiencies in its enterprise risk management,...more
12/1/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
Citibank ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enterprise Risks ,
Federal Reserve ,
OCC ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Risk Management
Human traffickers, like all criminals, rely on the international financial system to facilitate their crimes and to disguise proceeds from their illegal activities. Traffickers open bank accounts to deposit and launder...more
11/17/2020
/ Corruption ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Human Trafficking ,
Money Transfer ,
Payment Systems ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party Risk
Corporate governance and compliance is not as hard as everyone tries to make it. Much of management theory, risk management, and theories surrounding corporate operations is intuitive.
...more
Corporate board members face increasing risks. Federal prosecutors are watching their behavior when corporate malfeasance occurs. Regulators focus on the important issue of board governance. Shareholders are ready to file...more
Corporate boards face serious challenges – business disruption from the pandemic and a slowing global economy. Directors have to focus on these two issues for at least the next 12 months....more
Last week, Steele Compliance Solutions announced the global rollout of its new “Risk Intelligence Data” platform. As a global leader in ethics and compliance data management technologies, Steele makes a patented addition to...more
DOJ’s revised Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Program Guidance (“DOJ Guidance”) is yet another reminder on how far compliance has evolved and the path forward. Compliance programs have to incorporate real-time monitoring,...more
DOJ is catching up to compliance officers and evolving best practices. Say what you want, DOJ is behind the curve of the compliance industry. But you have to give DOJ credit – they are moving quickly to update its Guidance....more
We are finally reaching the end of the road on the beneficial ownership path.
In this last posting on the issue (for now), let’s start with a third-party population (third parties, vendors, suppliers) which have been...more
At the outset, if you have a headache after reading my first two posts on the beneficial ownership issue, I apologize. The issues twist and turn depending on whether the situation involves OFAC sanctions or corruption risks,...more
When discussing the importance of beneficial ownership with compliance professionals, there is often a disconnect between the theory and reality. Everyone understands the legal and compliance risks and how they apply to...more
We repeatedly hear about the importance of beneficial ownership, and the requirement that companies confirm beneficial ownership of its third-parties, vendors and suppliers. At the same time, there is increasing pressure...more