The Justice Department’s six-month pause on FCPA enforcement has left a gap in the global anti-corruption fight. The Justice Department played a critical role in coordinating international efforts and enforcement. in the...more
4/29/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
California ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
France ,
Government Agencies ,
Switzerland ,
UK
What happens when an entire era of anti-corruption enforcement is put on pause?
Is this a strategic move to bolster American businesses or a dangerous rollback of corporate accountability?
In an unprecedented move, the...more
What an amazing turn of events? — Who would have predicted that the Trump Administration would take such a bold action in the name of advancing “American Competitiveness.” I admit I did not see this coming — the Trump...more
2/12/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
Criminals can be creative — that is a true statement but essentially FCPA criminals have to embrace a variety of well-established techniques to accomplish a straight-forward goal — steal money from the company to funnel...more
1/16/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Third-Party Risk ,
White Collar Crimes
How did a high-stakes bribery scheme involving insider deals, Airbus planes, and secret payments bring down a global aviation giant?
In this episode, Michael Volkov dives deep into the AAR Corporation FCPA case—a cautionary...more
AAR, a provider of aviation products and services, engaged in two separate bribery schemes. State-owned entities and government agencies permeate the aviation industry. As a result, FCPA risks are embedded in direct...more
1/8/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Aviation Industry ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Fraud ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
What went wrong when McKinsey paid bribes to secure consulting contracts with South Africa's state-owned enterprises?
In this episode, Michael Volkov dives into the December 2024 DOJ settlement with McKinsey & Company,...more
In a far-reaching criminal case, in November 2024, the Justice Department unsealed a complex, five-count indictment in the Eastern District of New York charging eight defendants, including Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and...more
12/20/2024
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
Fraud ,
India ,
Indictments ,
Misleading Statements ,
Public Contracts ,
Solar Energy ,
White Collar Crimes
Deja Vu all over again — Yogi Berra Yogi Berra said it best — we have seen this scenario before, with similar parties — corrupt foreign officials from Eskom (and Transnet), local partner requirements resulting in engagement...more
The McKinsey FCPA case follows several other significant cases involving South Africa. ABB and SAP resolved FCPA cases involving bribes in South Africa; on the SEC front, Gartner resolved a bribery case involving South...more
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
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
Bit Mining, formerly 500.com, was a doomed company from the beginning, When a CEO orchestrates a bribery scheme with the assistance of other senior executives, shareholders and the public have little chance of ensuring a...more
12/13/2024
/ Bitcoin ,
Bitcoin Mining ,
Bribery ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Popular ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations
In reviewing FCPA bribery fact patterns, it is a rare occasion when a company’s CEO is at the epicenter of the criminal conspiracy. In the BIT Mining case, standing atop all of the actors is the CEO Zhengming Pan, Bit...more
Earlier this year, Bit Mining and its CEO fell under the FCPA hammer. Bit Mining, formerly known as 500.com, resolved investigations with the Justice Department and the SEC for its corrupt scheme to bribe Japanese government...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
What happens when a major defense contractor faces scrutiny for ethics and compliance violations?
In this episode of Corruption, Crime, and Compliance, Michael Volkov dives into the high-stakes world of corporate...more
11/17/2024
/ Arms Export Control Act ,
Bribery ,
Defense Sector ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
ITAR ,
Raytheon ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statutory Violations
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
The Justice Department’s global settlement included a significant False Claims Act resolution, resulting in a second deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) for a three-year term. A criminal information was filed in the...more
11/1/2024
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Defense Contracts ,
Defense Sector ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraud ,
Qui Tam ,
Raytheon ,
Whistleblowers
Raytheon’s comprehensive settlement included FCPA violations and failures to make required disclosures to the Defense Department concerning fees and commissions. This portion of the settlement was filed in the Eastern...more
11/1/2024
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Defense Sector ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
ITAR ,
Raytheon ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations
Raytheon Company (Raytheon) — a subsidiary of defense contractor, RTX (formerly known as Raytheon Technologies Corporation) — agreed to pay over $950 million to resolve the Justice Department’s investigations into: (i) a...more
10/29/2024
/ Arms Export Control Act ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
ITAR ,
Raytheon ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations
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
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