The Honeywell FCPA settlement underscored a number of important issues – lessons learned for compliance professionals. Every FCPA case carries important lessons learned, but some more than others....more
The facts surrounding Honeywell’s bribery schemes in Brazil and Algeria are fairly straightforward. In Brazil, the facts underscore the significant risks of bribery when companies participate in large, valuable project...more
The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission had a strong FCPA enforcement year. However, there is certainly more to come and it is easy to predict that 2023 will be even a bigger year....more
Following FTX’s stunning collapse, federal prosecutors have quickly taken steps to hold FTX’s founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”) accountable. On December 13, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a criminal...more
12/19/2022
/ Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Indictments ,
Misappropriation ,
Trading Platforms ,
White Collar Crimes
Contrary to the often-repeated narrative, the Justice Department is transparent about its enforcement plans and compliance expectations. Since the issuance of the FCPA Guidance in 2012, DOJ has continued to provide guidance...more
12/12/2022
/ 1MDB ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Russia ,
Uber ,
Ukraine ,
White Collar Crimes
Cryptocurrency companies are in trouble. Regulators are bearing down on crypto companies with the Eye of Sauron – pulling the crypto companies into their jurisdiction, prosecuting fraud cases, and aggressively prosecuting...more
12/9/2022
/ Corruption ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
Virtual Currency
The ABB case, like most significant FCPA enforcement actions, sets important precedent and policy reminders. With time, and looking back, ABB gives companies with a prior criminal history a way forward to seek a fair...more
12/8/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Piling-On ,
South Africa ,
White Collar Crimes
The details of bribery schemes are invaluable for learning how criminals think – bribery always requires some scheme to transfer money from the organization to fund bribery payments to a government official(s). Compliance...more
The Justice Department’s new Corporate Enforcement Policy and the heightened enforcement and compliance expectations were put to the test in its announcement of a $315 million settlement of bribery charges with ABB, a...more
Some were surprised by the recent move by the Department of Justice in focusing on the importance of incentives and disincentives as an important factor in an effective ethics and compliance program. Others, however, had been...more
Each FCPA case provides valuable lessons in the mechanics of bribery schemes and the common techniques used by violators to secure funds and make illegal payments to foreign government officials. Criminal violators often act...more
11/22/2022
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Ghana ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Indictments ,
White Collar Crimes
Talk about a reminder of the past, Asante Berko, a former Executive Director in Goldman Sachs, recently was arrested in London on criminal FCPA charges arising from his involvement in a bribery scheme in Ghana....more
11/21/2022
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Ghana ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Indictments ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
We always focus on foreign bribery — the FCPA and corporate bribery of foreign officials. It is certainly a problem that undermines economic development and human rights. ...more
11/10/2022
/ Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Healthcare ,
Incentives ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Violations ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice is pushing its commitment to voluntary disclosure programs. Companies, however, are not lining up at DOJ’s door. The balance between sitting tight or voluntary disclosures requires care....more
The Justice Department promised aggressive enforcement of export controls and sanctions against Russia. To that end, DOJ initiated the KleptoCapture task force to focus law enforcement investigations of export violators. ...more
The Justice Department continues to push an aggressive agenda against businesses. It is committed to demonstrating its resolve to prosecute companies and individuals from the business community. Whether it is antitrust,...more
10/27/2022
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fines ,
Forfeiture ,
ISIS ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
Terrorist Organizations
The Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued a finding of violation (“FoV”) to Nodus International Bank, Inc. (“Nodus”), located in Puerto Rico, for violation of Venezuelan Sanctions. Nordus...more
GOL’s bribery schemes present some interesting lessons. Interestingly, at the center of the bribery scheme was a member of GOL’s board of directors.
The bribery scheme was motivated by potential legislation that would...more
The proper balance in corporate prosecutions remains a tricky issue. On the one hand, many argue that large fines and penalties against corporations are needed to deter criminal conduct, while others contend that...more
The Justice Department announced the indictment in New York of Cary Yan, a Chinese entrepreneur, and Gina Zhou, his assistant, on FCPA and money laundering charges relating to a scheme to secure control of an atoll owned by...more
9/6/2022
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Indictments ,
Marshall Islands ,
Money Laundering ,
White Collar Crimes
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district judge’s post-conviction dismissal of FCPA counts against Lawrence Hoskins, a former Alston executive, for his involvement in bribery scheme to secure a $118 million...more
Since its last enforcement action against Banco Popular in late May, OFAC has been quiet on the enforcement front. Notwithstanding its silence, OFAC has been managing a robust and complex coordinated economic sanctions...more
7/26/2022
/ American Express ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Sanctions ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
SDN List
The new DOJ Certification requirements certainly raise a number of new issues and risks for senior management and chief compliance officers. In Part I of this series, I outlined the specific language and the Plea Agreement...more
6/29/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Certification Requirements ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Global Market ,
Plea Agreements ,
White Collar Crimes
Ericsson is having a tough time. First, in 2019, Ericsson settled FCPA charges with the Justice Department and the SEC for a total of $1 billion (with a B). Second, Ericsson had an independent compliance monitor appointed...more
6/15/2022
/ Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ericsson ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Internal Controls ,
Iraq ,
ISIS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
Terrorist Organizations
NAVEX recently released its annual Hotline and Incident Management Report. Given NAVEX’s strong position in the hotline service market, NAVEX has access to a large volume of reporting data. As a result, its annual report is...more