FCPA trends often are relatively easy to describe and often overblown as a marketing technique by the usual cast of paparazzi suspects. (Self-proclaimed prognosticators that often push incorrect themes to promote business,...more
The Tysers and Wood FCPA settlements reflect something old and something new in the FCPA enforcement world.
On the old side, at the core of the FCPA violations was the critical role played by the intermediary company....more
As I always say, the factual underpinnings of every FCPA enforcement action provides important insights into bribery schemes. At the core of every scheme is the misappropriation of money from the company coffers for improper...more
11/29/2023
/ Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Ecuador ,
Foreign Official ,
Intermediaries ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Reinsurance ,
Reinsurance Agreements ,
Third-Party ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
DOJ announced two recent FCPA settlements with U.K. based reinsurance brokers involving a long-running bribery scheme involving two Ecuadoran state-owned insurance companies. While DOJ has had a slow year in FCPA...more
11/28/2023
/ Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Ecuador ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Insurance Brokers ,
Reinsurance ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department has brought three corporate FCPA enforcement actions in 2023 (if you include the Ericsson DPA breach settlement). With its recent announcement of a declination under the Corporate Enforcement Policy,...more
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
El 18 de octubre de 2023, la Oficina de Control de Activos Extranjeros (“OFAC”) del Departamento del Tesoro de los Estados Unidos tomó varias medidas para proporcionar un alivio (limitado) de sus sanciones económicas en...more
On October 18, 2023, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) took several steps to provide Venezuela with some limited relief from its sanctions. The relief includes General Licenses...more
10/23/2023
/ Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Relief Measures ,
Venezuela ,
White Collar Crimes
The Securities and Exchange Commission continues to rack up FCPA enforcement actions. In its latest settlement, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings agreed to pay $26.1 million for bribery violations committed by its former...more
The Albemarle FCPA enforcement action was announced at a good time. This year has been a slow year for DOJ’s FCPA enforcement program, although there are several months before the end of the year. The SEC, on the other hand,...more
10/4/2023
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Government Entities ,
Oil & Gas ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Relationships ,
White Collar Crimes
Albemarle’s bribery schemes look and sound like text-book examples of third-party agents being paid high commissions as a way to funnel bribery payments to foreign officials at state-owned oil refineries. However, as usual,...more
10/3/2023
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Entities ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Relationships ,
White Collar Crimes
Albemarle Corporation (Albemarle), a specialty chemicals manufacturing company located in Charlotte, North Carolina, agreed to pay more than $218 million to settle FCPA investigations with DOJ and the SEC stemming from...more
10/3/2023
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Forfeiture ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Oil & Gas ,
Penalties ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes
The past few weeks have not been kind to 3M. The company recently settled with the SEC for $6.5 million to resolve alleged FCPA violations related to its Chinese subsidiary’s dealings with Chinese state-owned healthcare...more
9/28/2023
/ Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
General Licenses ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes
On September 27, 2023, the United States Department of Commerce’s Office of Antiboycott Compliance, a division of the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), publicized an unanticipated and relatively rare enforcement action...more
9/13/2023
/ Antiboycott Requirements ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Popular ,
US Trade Policies
The SEC is having a good year in prosecuting FCPA cases. The SEC’s recent settlement with 3M Corp. for $6.5 million is its seventh corporate resolution for the year. DOJ, which has been relatively quiet so far this year,...more
8/29/2023
/ 3M Company ,
Anti-Corruption ,
China ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
You can always learn a lot from reviewing the underlying conduct to an FCPA enforcement action. Chief compliance officers can identify specific risk factors, mitigation steps and root causes for bribery schemes.
...more
8/16/2023
/ Books & Records ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Governments ,
Odebrecht ,
Public Projects ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice has been relatively quiet this year in bringing corporate FCPA enforcement actions and settlements. Aside from the Ericsson breach of its Deferred Prosecution Agreement, the Corficocolombiana...more
8/15/2023
/ Bribery ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department’s recent revisions to its Corporate Enforcement Program and its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs stressed the importance of compensations systems and consequence management. The theoretical...more
NAVEX’s annual report on the state of risk and compliance is a must read. Each year NAVEX supplies helpful insights that compliance professionals, corporate managers and board members can use to benchmark their respective...more
7/6/2023
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Ethics ,
Harassment ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management
OFAC continues its enforcement push. At the same time, OFAC is managing a complex, global set of sanctions against Russia. DOJ has promised to increase prosecution of global banks for sanctions violations....more
6/21/2023
/ Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Crimea ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Know Your Customers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department has made it clear that it intends to prioritize criminal prosecution of national security cases to prevent hostile nation-states from illegally acquiring sensitive U.S technology. To this end, DOJ...more
The SEC has been racking up several FCPA enforcement actions. DOJ appears to be declining many of these cases. The division of enforcement appeared to follow a pattern – on larger cases with more pervasive violations, DOJ...more
After a long-running investigation, Koninklijke Philips (“Philips), a Dutch company, resolved FCPA violations in China by agreeing to pay the SEC $62 million. Philips is a global manufacturer of medical equipment....more
Let’s move beyond the headline – trade compliance is the new FCPA. We get it. The next step is to do something about it. The Justice Department has repeated this refrain – it is one of its greatest hits. In addition, DOJ,...more
5/17/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Assessment ,
White Collar Crimes
To restate the obvious – DOJ has prioritized prosecution of national security crimes. For the business world, every company touches the international economy. Even a domestic company might sell products or services outside...more