If there is one area where I would like to see improvement in the corporate governance world, it has to be at the corporate board level. While companies are expanding internal compliance programs, companies fail to take a...more
BK Medical, a subsidiary of the Denmark company, Analogic settled an FCPA enforcement action last week with the Justice Department and the SEC for approximately $14 million. Analogic agreed to pay $3.4 million to the Justice...more
6/30/2016
/ Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Investigations ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
Compliance is a profession that requires multi-tasking – another profound grasp of the obvious. But in the multi-tasking world, some principles and strategies are more important than others.
My colleague and...more
6/28/2016
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Documentation ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Hitachi ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
South Africa ,
White Collar Crimes
DOJ’s FCPA Unit knows what they are doing. In the immediate weeks after the release of the FCPA Pilot Program, DOJ publicly released two declination letters for Akamai Technologies and Nortek, Inc. and the SEC announced...more
6/14/2016
/ Akamai Technologies ,
Bribery ,
China ,
Cloud Computing ,
Construction Industry ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Nortek ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Technology Sector ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
Just like the ups and downs of the business cycle, SEC enforcement of accounting fraud cases follow an up and down trend as well. For example, during the financial crisis, SEC enforcement of accounting fraud cases took a back...more
A number of companies have adopted the requirement that a new Chief Compliance Office come from the ranks of former federal prosecutors. I am not sure exactly why companies have adopted this requirement. Perhaps company...more
Since 2010, the Justice Department and the SEC have been “investigating” a number of private equity and hedge funds for FCPA violations. The launch of the inquiries was a big deal with lots of fanfare and focus on private...more
5/5/2016
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Government Entities ,
Hedge Funds ,
Libya ,
Och-Ziff ,
Political Corruption ,
Popular ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sovereign Wealth Funds ,
Wells Notice ,
Zimbabwe
Just to add to the cacophony of voices campaigning during this primary season, DOJ, SEC, FINRA, and CFTC officials launched their own campaign promoting recent initiatives to increase corporate self-reporting of potential...more
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet included this often used phrase – hoist with his own petard (a small bomb). Shakespeare never knew that his eloquence would apply to today’s SEC enforcement of internal controls.
The FCPA...more
The SEC continues its cutting edge FCPA enforcement program, bringing in a variety of enforcement cases and employing some new strategies.
In its latest foray, the SEC settled with Las Vegas Sands, owned by Sheldon...more
Akin to politics (to a smaller degree), there is a fair amount of disinformation, some call it bloviating, put out by the FCPA Paparazzi. Some of this disinformation is motivated by immature attempts to “market” legal...more
Last week, the SEC announced another FCPA settlement involving the pharmaceutical industry for bribery in China. The SEC’s settlement filing represents yet another example of the pharmaceutical industry run amok in China,...more
3/29/2016
/ Bribery ,
China ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Kickbacks ,
Novartis ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
We have all been reading (over and over) about the Yates Memorandum and the renewed focus on individual culpability. As I have said (over and over), the proof will be in the results – if we see an increased number of criminal...more
FCPA enforcement actions run the gamut of fact patterns and structured resolutions. We are in the midst of a transformation in the overall settlement environment with an expected increase in individual prosecutions....more
Medical device and pharmaceutical companies know the risks of conducting business in China. Company after company has had to settle FCPA enforcement actions in China. Many of these enforcement actions include fact patterns...more
Following FCPA enforcement actions provides important insights that can be translated into corporate compliance program best practices. One key element of an effective ethics and compliance program is conducting periodic...more
PTC, a Massachusetts software company, reached settlements with the SEC and DOJ last week for FCPA violations for a total of $28 million. Interestingly, the SEC announced a DPA with a PTC official who assisted in the...more
Welcome back to the Department of Justice and FCPA enforcement. After a lengthy hiatus, DOJ returned to the FCPA enforcement scene with a demonstration of its full capability, assuming certain individuals are prosecuted...more
The SEC is setting its sights on individual prosecutions. Both the Justice Department and the SEC have reiterated the importance of prosecuting individuals. DOJ’s Yates Memorandum promises to deliver an increase in civil and...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission continues its steady march as the prominent FCPA enforcement agency against corporations. The Justice Department has not brought any enforcement actions this year and continues to...more
The Justice Department and the SEC are tired of investigating companies with “paper” compliance programs. It is easy to spot a “paper” compliance program – as the saying goes, you can smell it a mile away....more
In all honesty, if I were betting on my predictions, I would be broke. If I were setting the line on the Super Bowl, I am sure I would go bankrupt in paying off bets. With such confidence, you may want to just click to the...more
One of the critical questions when evaluating a potential FCPA violation is to decide whether to disclose the matter to the Justice Department and the SEC.
The SEC recently announced a requirement that companies to...more
Say what you will – the SEC is making its mark this year in FCPA enforcement. So far, the SEC has brought nine separate enforcement actions, the latest with Bristol-Myers Squibb. I am sure we will see more before the end of...more
10/13/2015
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Bristol-Myers Squibb ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics ,
Federal Prosecutors ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The SEC’s FCPA enforcement action for $14.6 million against Bristol Meyers Squibb (“BMS”) in China provides a textbook example of how things can go wrong in China.
For the compliance practitioner (as well as CEO and...more
10/12/2015
/ Bribery ,
Bristol-Myers Squibb ,
China ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Meals-Gifts-and Entertainment Rules ,
Medical Devices ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes