The Justice Department is putting every business on notice — aggressive white collar criminal enforcement is here to stay. In a one-two punch, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced a revised Corporate Enforcement...more
The Lisa Monaco Memo is a new and important restatement of the Justice Department’s approach to corporate crime. It is a worthy read and it sets out a number of new requirements and procedures for DOJ prosecutors...more
The Monaco Memo is a watershed moment as part of DOJ’s evolution and advocacy for effective ethics and compliance programs. We have seen prior moments of significant action — DOJ’s adoption of the FCPA Guidance, DOJ’s...more
The Biden Administration promised a new, aggressive approach to corporate crime. Well, the Justice Department just delivered a new, comprehensive policy that raises a number of new issues, some of which are likely to be...more
GOL’s bribery schemes present some interesting lessons. Interestingly, at the center of the bribery scheme was a member of GOL’s board of directors.
The bribery scheme was motivated by potential legislation that would...more
The proper balance in corporate prosecutions remains a tricky issue. On the one hand, many argue that large fines and penalties against corporations are needed to deter criminal conduct, while others contend that...more
The Justice Department announced the indictment in New York of Cary Yan, a Chinese entrepreneur, and Gina Zhou, his assistant, on FCPA and money laundering charges relating to a scheme to secure control of an atoll owned by...more
9/6/2022
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Indictments ,
Marshall Islands ,
Money Laundering ,
White Collar Crimes
Chief compliance officers rely on several important sources for feedback — internal data and communications (reviews with board, senior managers, employees); and benchmarking against comparable organizations. An internal...more
This is a topic that every compliance professional has to address in one form or another. Chief compliance officers are so busy that they often cannot even take the time to tackle this difficult issue. This is a real...more
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district judge’s post-conviction dismissal of FCPA counts against Lawrence Hoskins, a former Alston executive, for his involvement in bribery scheme to secure a $118 million...more
Frankly, this is a topic that requires more than a single blog-post. Books and podcasts can be organized around this topic with helpful ideas and guidance. In this respect, I will try to synthesize some important ideas that...more
Chief compliance officers have a lot of issues to balance on their plate. Experienced CCOs know that it is not possible to complete every objective, balance every changing risk, and continuously improve their respective...more
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) has decided to join the enforcement club. BIS’s recent announcement of new policies to administrative actions should not be surprising. ...more
As we enjoy the remainder of the summer and get ready to launch into a new fall season (no, not football) but a time for renewal and recommitment, this may be a good opportunity to examine and analyze your own compliance...more
There are lots of sources for compliance guidance — prosecutors, regulators, compliance organizations, and many others have set forth important and valuable guidance for the design and implementation of an effective ethics...more
CCOs, by definition, are careful and deliberate. It comes with the profession. As risk managers, CCOs are skilled in identifying, assessing and acting in a risk environment....more
6/30/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Certification Requirements ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
White Collar Crimes
The new DOJ Certification requirements certainly raise a number of new issues and risks for senior management and chief compliance officers. In Part I of this series, I outlined the specific language and the Plea Agreement...more
6/29/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Certification Requirements ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Global Market ,
Plea Agreements ,
White Collar Crimes
NAVEX recently released its annual Hotline and Incident Management Report. Given NAVEX’s strong position in the hotline service market, NAVEX has access to a large volume of reporting data. As a result, its annual report is...more
In following the Justice Department and the Securities Exchange Commission FCPA enforcement actions, I am always reminded of the popular phrase — “reading the tea leaves.” (or “tasseography,” a fortune-telling method based on...more
6/8/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The SEC announced another FCPA settlement in 2022. FCPA enforcement, in general, is picking up.
Tenaris, a global supplier of steel pipes and related services for the energy industry, agreed to pay the SEC $78 million to...more
6/7/2022
/ Bribery ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Disgorgement ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Petrobras ,
Prejudgment Interest ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department has resumed FCPA enforcement with a bang. The new enforcement approach has been unveiled and the message for CCOs and corporate business leaders is clear — anti-corruption compliance should be a...more
6/6/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Spoofing ,
White Collar Crimes
Glencore’s settlement with DOJ and the CFTC revealed a plethora of manipulative, deceptive and corrupt conduct, which spanned from at least 2007 to 2018 and occurred in the United States and global oil markets, including...more
6/3/2022
/ CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivatives ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Market Manipulation ,
Oil & Gas ,
White Collar Crimes
The broad and pervasive scope of Glencore’s bribery conduct is obvious. The scope of its misconduct reflects Glencore’s fatal culture and commitment to profits at any and all cost. Glencore’s board and senior executive team...more
The Justice Department has been promising a new, more aggressive approach to FCPA enforcement. DOJ officials have made statements to that effect on numerous occasions. The Biden Administration touted its elevation of the...more
In a long-anticipated and major enforcement action, the Justice Department and the Commodities and Futures Exchange Commission resolved a sprawling investigation with Glencore International A.G. and Glencore Ltd, a...more
5/27/2022
/ Bribery ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Market Manipulation ,
Mining ,
White Collar Crimes