On December 5, 2024, DOJ announced a settlement with McKinsey and Company for $122 million for bribes paid to South African government officials to secure valuable consulting contracts....more
12/18/2024
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s is playing catch up to the Criminal Division on compliance leadership. DOJ’s Criminal Division has issued four separate revisions to its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance...more
12/17/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Government Investigations ,
Tone At The Top ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
What happens when a Chief Executive Officer becomes the architect of a global bribery scheme?
In this episode of Corruption, Crime, and Compliance, Michael Volkov delivers an in-depth analysis of the BIT Mining FCPA case —...more
You often hear chief compliance officers speak about benchmarking. CCOs often reveal their competitive streaks when they collect information about other companies’ compliance programs. It can easily come off as a little...more
The Justice Department’s record of FCPA enforcement in 2024 has been disappointing. With all of the hoopla and pronouncements surrounding the global war against corruption, DOJ suggested that enforcement in 2023 and 2024...more
We should all admit something (among many things) — reading through factual statements of bribery offenses, the facts all start to meld together. Criminals are not as ingenuous or creative as they think, and the schemes they...more
Telefónica Venezolana C.A. (“Telefónica Venezolana”), the Venezuela-based subsidiary of Telefónica S.A. (Telefónica), the Spanish telecommunications company entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) and agreed to...more
The SEC notched another FCPA settlement, continuing its steady pursuit and resolution of FCPA cases. In the meantime, the Justice Department has been silent in the FCPA enforcement arena.
In this episode of Corruption,...more
How does a respected financial institution turn into a criminal operation? In this episode of Corruption, Crime, and Compliance, host Michael Volkov dives into the record-breaking $3 billion settlement between TD Bank and the...more
How can companies ensure that their compliance programs are robust enough to handle today’s complex ethical challenges?
In this episode, Michael Volkov dives into the critical components of conducting an internal compliance...more
The SEC notched another FCPA settlement, continuing its steady pursuit and resolution of FCPA cases. In the meantime, the Justice Department has been silent in the FCPA enforcement arena. In its latest settlement, Moog,...more
TD Banks’ complete compliance disaster was reflected in every aspect of TD Bank’s business and compliance operations. It is not surprising that TD Bank’s deficient BSA and AML compliance program was known by its Board of...more
10/18/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
OCC ,
White Collar Crimes
TD Bank’s $3 billion settlement included coordinated regulatory settlements with the Federal Reserve Board (“Federal Reserve”), The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), and the...more
10/17/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
FRB ,
OCC ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations ,
White Collar Crimes
In yet another reminder of the scope of Justice Department enforcement powers, and an important demonstration of the risks of non-compliance, the Justice Department and relevant banking agencies announced a $3 billion...more
10/15/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
FRB ,
Guilty Pleas ,
OCC ,
Popular ,
Statutory Violations ,
White Collar Crimes
How prepared is your company to handle the evolving risks of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies in its compliance program?
In this episode of Corruption, Crime and Compliance, Michael Volkov delves into...more
How prepared is your organization to handle the evolving landscape of sanctions compliance?
In this episode of Corruption, Crime and Compliance, Michael Volkov dives into critical sanctions compliance cases and their...more
The Justice Department announced yet another version of its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs. As everyone knows, the Justice Department’s guidance carries talismanic significance — it is an important document that...more
10/4/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enterprise Risks ,
Innovative Technology ,
Machine Learning ,
Risk Management ,
White Collar Crimes
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“DOC-BIS”) is adopting procedures to generate voluntary self-disclosures for violations of export controls laws. Companies have to weigh carefully the risks when...more
The SEC's recent settlement with Deere & Company for $9.9 million for FCPA violations is another textbook example of bribery schemes, which revealed the absence of a culture of compliance, and the circumvention of basic...more
We are all familiar with — over and over — third-party risks and FCPA risks. It is drilled in our collective heads — third-party risks and bribery. Legal and compliance professionals have to learn and understand the ins...more
The SEC’s recent settlement with Deere & Company for $9.9 million for FCPA violations is another textbook example of bribery schemes, which revealed the absence of a culture of compliance, and the circumvention of basic...more
How will the DOJ's new corporate whistleblower pilot program reshape the enforcement of corporate criminal conduct?
In this episode of Corruption, Crime, and Compliance, Michael Volkov explores the Department of Justice's...more
DOJ is pushing hard for voluntary disclosures and urging companies to take advantage of its Voluntary Disclosure Program. The carrot is significant — a declination in exchange for cooperation, remediation and disgorgement....more
9/5/2024
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fines ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Settlement ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department is encouraging companies to voluntarily disclose criminal violations — “Come in and confess” and DOJ offers promises of a declination. But even a declination comes with a requirement — the company has...more
9/4/2024
/ Angola ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fines ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Popular ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
Compliance lessons are life lessons. Compliance professionals are, by their nature, optimistic people. They see challenges as new opportunities to strive closer to an ideal. Compliance professionals live in the shadow of...more