DOJ’s new Corporate Enforcement Program is designed to bring certainty to the voluntary disclosure and cooperation process. DOJ’s intent is clear — voluntary disclosure is likely to lead to a declination, reduced penalties...more
5/21/2025
/ Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Crimes ,
Tariffs ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
With each new Administration comes a new approach or emphasis on certain enforcement priorities. The Trump Administration is marking its territory and doing so to underscore its priorities. In a recent speech, the...more
5/15/2025
/ Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
White Collar Crimes
Family International, a Florida real estate company, and its U.S. owner, Roman Sinyavsky, settled with OFAC for $1.07 million for 73 violations of the Russia Sanctions program. In a separate criminal case, Roman Sinyavsky...more
2/5/2025
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Fines ,
Fraud ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
White Collar Crimes
In 2017, when President Trump first took office, big changes were expected in FCPA enforcement. Much of this reflected President Trump’s expressed misgivings on the substance of the FCPA. He was not a big fan of the law and...more
1/28/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
While DOJ did not have an overwhelming FCPA enforcement year, DOJ has devoted significant energy to tweaking its enforcement and compliance policies. These measures were believed to coincide with a number of significant...more
With the end of the Biden Administration, it is hard to identify a consistent theme relating to FCPA enforcement. On the one hand, the Biden Administration talked a big game, elevating the anti-corruption fight as a national...more
1/16/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Penalties ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
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
Raytheon’s criminal conduct cut across a variety of topics — it is difficult to imagine but Raytheon’s misconduct occurred in separate parts of the company, involving violations of different laws. Like most cases, I always...more
10/31/2024
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraud ,
Leadership ,
Pricing ,
Raytheon
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
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
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
While FCPA enforcement against companies has been relatively quiet this year, despite a strong beginning to the year — the SAP case for $220 million; and the Gunvor case for $661 million — DOJ has been pushing a number of...more
DOJ is joining the whistleblower reward sweepstakes in a big way. While the SEC has been grabbing headlines for its whistleblower reward program since 2010, DOJ now wants a piece of the action. DOJ cited gaps that exist...more
DOJ is feeling the heat. Corporate criminal enforcement numbers are down. in fairness, DOJ has been pushing individual criminal enforcement as an effective deterrent to corporate misconduct. Criminal prosecutions, when done...more
8/20/2024
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Fraud ,
Money Laundering ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
White Collar Crimes
DOJ has been on a public relations campaign to push a simple message for corporations: if companies learn of misconduct, companies should disclose such misconduct to earn valuable benefits. The quintessential question...more
You have to give the Justice Department credit — after two slow enforcement years, DOJ is starting off 2024 with a relative “bang;” first, DOJ reached a large settlement with SAP in January, and now, DOJ has reached a...more
3/19/2024
/ Bribery ,
Commodities Traders ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Money Laundering ,
Statutory Violations ,
White Collar Crimes
The technology revolution and the rise of information and data permeates every aspect of our economy and daily lives. It is not surprising then that the Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies are embracing...more
While 2023 was a relatively slow year in FCPA enforcement, the DOJ and SEC settlements announced throughout the year set out a list of important ethics and compliance reminders. While these may seem obvious to everyone, I...more
1/11/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department has had a slow year in FCPA enforcement (another profound grasp of the obvious). The reasons for this may be a question of timing elements in the pipeline of cases....more
11/14/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Assistance Programs ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Third-Party Risk ,
White Collar Crimes
One of the benefits of old(er) age is perspective and experience. (As we age, we have to find the positive reasons to tout). If there is one thing (of many) the compliance profession has demonstrated, it is that compliance...more
Honestly, I have been avoiding this topic since it presents a real morass of risks and potential traps for the unwary company and Chief Compliance and Chief Legal Officers....more
10/17/2023
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Data Preservation ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Data Storage ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
As part of its continuing effort to encourage corporate voluntary disclosures, the Department of Justice announced revised voluntary disclosure policies applicable to mergers and acquisitions. In a speech at the recent...more
The marriage of corporate enforcement and national security has been a defining feature of the DOJ under the Biden Administration. The Justice Department’s commitment to prosecuting corporate crimes that implicate national...more