In a speech on October 24, 2023, the director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Enforcement Division, Gurbir Grewal, described the scenarios in which the commission would bring an enforcement action against...more
In the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) latest effort to promote voluntary self-disclosure of corporate misconduct by companies, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco has announced guidance regarding a new safe harbor...more
10/5/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Ethics ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
Safe Harbors ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure
In recent remarks, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General (PADAG) Marshall Miller of the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco will soon announce new voluntary self-disclosure...more
On July 26, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) National Security Division (NSD), the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign...more
8/1/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers
DOJ Increases Resources To Investigate and Prosecute Sanctions Evasion and Export Control Violations -
On March 2, 2023, during a keynote speech at the American Bar Association’s annual White Collar Crime National...more
3/17/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Entities ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
International Trade ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
Voluntary Disclosure
In early March 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released several important updates to its policies related to corporate crime enforcement and compliance programs. We discuss below the following key topics:
(i) The DOJ...more
3/13/2023
/ Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Entities ,
Corporate Financing ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Institutions ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Mobile Devices ,
Pilot Programs ,
White Collar Crimes
On February 22, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) adopted a new policy that establishes a national standard for voluntary self-disclosure credit in corporate criminal enforcement actions brought by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices...more
On January 17, 2023, U.S. law enforcement authorities in Miami arrested Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national and the founder and majority owner of Hong Kong-based virtual currency exchange Bitzlato Ltd., on charges of money...more
2/7/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
Law Enforcement ,
Money Laundering ,
NDAA ,
Patriot Act ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency ,
White Collar Crimes
On January 16, 2023, France’s financial prosecutor, the “Parquet National Financier” (PNF), issued updated guidance (the Guidelines) regarding its approach to offering, negotiating and entering into French deferred...more
2/6/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
CJIP ,
Compensation ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
France ,
Guidance Update ,
Public Statements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
Governmental authorities in the U.K. and the U.S. want companies to align employment incentives with ethical conduct. In 2022, the U.K. government undertook a consultation on this topic and in May 2022 published a paper —...more
2/6/2023
/ Clawbacks ,
Corporate Executives ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Ethics ,
Remuneration ,
Risk Management ,
SMCR ,
UK ,
UK Bribery Act ,
White Collar Crimes
On January 17, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced revisions to the Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement Policy. The revisions follow Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco’s September 2022...more
1/24/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Commodities ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cross-Border ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Investigations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
White Collar Crimes
On December 13, 2022, Danske Bank A/S, headquartered in Denmark, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1349) and agreed to forfeit approximately $2.06 billion to resolve an investigation by...more
12/21/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Fraud ,
Banking Sector ,
Compliance ,
Danske Bank ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Money Laundering ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement
In a recently published memorandum, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco announced important updates to the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) approach to investigating and prosecuting corporate crimes. In the...more
Takeaways - With ongoing supply chain disruptions and uncertainty, companies continue to consider diversifying their sources for key supplies and inputs. Altering supply chains can bring new legal and regulatory risks,...more
Regulatory scrutiny of the use and management of cryptocurrency and other digital assets such as utility tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) (collectively, cryptoassets) is rapidly growing on both sides of the Atlantic....more
9/13/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
FinCEN ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Remarks made by U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) officials at the March 2022 American Bar Association’s (ABA’s) National Institute on White Collar Crime (the White Collar Conference) reflect the DOJ’s prioritizing white...more
On December 6, 2021, the White House released "United States Strategy on Countering Corruption" (the Strategy Paper), which outlines the Biden administration's focus on fighting corruption as a core national security interest...more
In one of the first substantive speeches on corporate criminal enforcement under the Biden administration, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced on October 28, 2021, several immediate changes to Department of Justice...more
11/3/2021
/ Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Internal Investigations ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Risk Assessment ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice (DOJ) under President Joe Biden is widely expected to increase its focus on white collar enforcement actions against individuals and financial institutions. We anticipate that we will see, as we did...more
On 23 October 2020, the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) updated its Operational Handbook, publishing a new chapter on deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) (the Chapter). This note summarizes key points from the Chapter and...more
Though directed at prosecutors, the June 1, 2020, guidance on corporate compliance programs (Guidance) from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is a source of practical advice for in-house legal and compliance teams in...more
On July 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) jointly released the second edition of the “Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” which was...more
7/17/2020
/ Accounting Controls ,
Acquisitions ,
Co-Conspirators ,
Compliance ,
Conspiracies ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Due Diligence ,
FCPA Resource Guide ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Instrumentality ,
Intent ,
Meals-Gifts-and Entertainment Rules ,
Mergers ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third Party Payments ,
Travel
On June 1, 2020, the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released updates to its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs guidance (Guidance), last revised in April 2019. ...more
Addressing the Evolving Risks -
Warren Buffett said that “only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” Buffett was not talking about compliance programs in a time of crisis, but his wisdom applies...more
5/2/2020
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FFIEC ,
Financial Distress ,
Financial Fraud ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Market Manipulation ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sanction Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
While enforcement agencies have yet to indicate that they intend to put their pens down in response to COVID-19, there is anecdotal evidence that some agencies have slowed their investigations as remote working impacts matter...more
3/31/2020
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Market ,
Disruptive Trading Practices ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equity Markets ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
France ,
Market Abuse ,
Risk Management ,
Social Distancing ,
Tax Evasion ,
UK Bribery Act ,
White Collar Crimes