The evolution in the global economy is raising challenges for anti-corruption compliance. In response to economic dislocations and disruptions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine, businesses...more
5/26/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Ethics ,
Exports ,
Global Market ,
Imports ,
Military Conflict ,
Russia ,
Supply Chain ,
Ukraine ,
White Collar Crimes
In a blockbuster settlement, DOJ unleashed its full power against Allianz Global and key portfolio managers responsible for a massive, long running fraud scheme involving a series of private investment funds managed by...more
5/25/2022
/ Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Indictments ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Settlement Agreements ,
White Collar Crimes
In a homecoming speech, DOJ’s Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite gave a rousing speech to a room full of compliance professionals at the annual Compliance Week meeting in Washington, D.C. AAG Polite, who has served as...more
Compliance professionals are always looking for ways to collaborate and support internal business partners. Through the years, compliance professionals have devoted significant energy to building partnerships with the...more
5/17/2022
/ Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Military Conflict ,
Risk Management ,
Russia ,
Supply Chain ,
Third-Party Risk ,
Ukraine ,
White Collar Crimes
Hold onto your hats – while we are on the cusp of more FCPA enforcement actions, the Justice Department and OFAC are gearing up for real and significant sanctions enforcement actions. The dye is cast, so here we go. ...more
5/11/2022
/ Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Military Conflict ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Russia ,
Ukraine ,
White Collar Crimes
Prosecuting white collar crimes is a “mind game” in more ways than one. This is another in my long series of profound grasps of the obvious. -
As a former federal prosecutor, the difference between a crime and compliant...more
In the FCPA and white collar defense community, we have seen buckets and buckets of ink spilled on the coming wave of aggressive enforcement. Justice Department officials have made so many statements about the “new” approach...more
5/9/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
White Collar Crimes
As part of the United States governments effort to support Ukraine in its war against Russia, the Biden Administration sent to Congress a number of legislative proposals in addition to a supplemental request for an additional...more
5/5/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Forfeiture ,
Forfeiture Statutes ,
Military Conflict ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
RICO ,
Russia ,
Ukraine ,
White Collar Crimes
The Stericycle FCPA case is yet another example of a complete culture and compliance breakdown. As I often repeat myself, there is no more important control than an ethical culture. When a culture veers into the unethical...more
The Justice Department ended its FCPA enforcement drought by announcing its first corporate settlement in 2022. In a parallel action, the SEC announced its settlement with Stericycle for $28 million for FCPA violations. The...more
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has suffered setbacks in recent months. Prior to these recent cases, DOJ’s Antitrust Division secured some significant trial victories, including Bumble Bee’s former CEO Chris...more
4/20/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bumble Bee Foods ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Price-Fixing ,
Wage-Fixing ,
White Collar Crimes
On the top of its record of success, DOJ won two big and highly-contested cases. The first against Elizabeth Holmes and the second against Roger Ng. In perhaps one of its most significant failures, DOJ was handed a quick...more
4/20/2022
/ 1MDB ,
Airplane Accidents ,
Boeing ,
Bribery ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Investment Fraud ,
Theranos ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
Federal prosecutors know that their job – to represent the United States – is the highlight of their legal career. Speaking from experience, federal prosecutors are a privileged lot – they can announce in court they represent...more
The Biden Administration’s Department of Justice has promised aggressive white collar enforcement. On the flip side, the DOJ has recognized the importance of effective ethics and compliance programs. In an interesting...more
Well, we all know the familiar repetitive life experiences from the movie Groundhog Day, or as I like to say it, Déjà vu All Over Again. DOJ emphasizes over and over the importance of prosecuting individuals for criminal...more
The Justice Department continues its enforcement “silence” with no major corporate prosecutions announced this year. It is an interesting question but it appears that the wheels have ground to a halt, with one major...more
4/4/2022
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
White Collar Crimes
In another action targeting Russian actors and connections, the Justice Department indicted Elena Branson, a dual United States-Russian national with criminal evasion of Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) registration...more
3/17/2022
/ Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Evasion ,
Foreign Agents ,
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Indictments ,
Lobbying ,
Lobbyists ,
National Security ,
Russia ,
Statutory Violations ,
White Collar Crimes
Even though the size of the KT Corp. SEC enforcement action is relatively small, the underlying misconduct provides a number of important lessons learned. ...more
2/24/2022
/ Bribery ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Political Contributions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Third-Party Risk ,
White Collar Crimes
When you look under the hood of FCPA enforcement actions, the schemes employed by corporate actors can be shocking. The “creativity” of bad actors can provide important lessons learned and help future investigators when...more
The SEC announced its first FCPA enforcement action in 2022. South Korean telecommunications company, KT Corporation, agreed to pay $6.3 million to settle FCPA violations. As part of the settlement, KT Corp. agreed to pay...more
2/22/2022
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Books & Records ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure to Comply ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
South Korea ,
Telecommunications ,
White Collar Crimes
Even with the absence of any major DOJ FCPA enforcement actions, DOJ issued an interesting FCPA Opinion Letter last week addressing application of the FCPA in circumstances where organizations face imminent serious bodily...more
2/18/2022
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Detention ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Governments ,
Legitimate Business Purpose ,
Opinion Letter ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Vessels ,
White Collar Crimes
Federal prosecutors enjoy flipping through the United States Criminal Code, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq., to pick out tools to charge defendants. Over the last ten years, DOJ’s reliance on criminal charges in FCPA cases has...more
2/18/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
BSA/AML ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Code ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department trumpeted its criminal prosecutions against defendants charged with Libor-rigging. It had a right to toot its own horn. But many of these convictions have not withstood the scrutiny of appellate...more
2/8/2022
/ Appeals ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivatives ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Lack of Evidence ,
Libor ,
Mail Fraud ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud ,
Wrongful Conviction
Chief compliance officers have plenty of things to do and risks to manage. CCOs have a unique remit and a set of skills that should be applied whenever needed. While I am not trying to increase CCO workload (and forgive me...more
2/2/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Cartels ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Risk Assessment ,
Sherman Act ,
White Collar Crimes
Facing the myriad third-party sanctions risks can be daunting. Many global organizations rely on a network of third-party intermediaries that pose a variety of risks. To mitigate those risks, companies have to implement...more