DOJ’s Antitrust Division has been relatively quiet in prosecuting criminal cartel or bid-rigging cases. Since 2015, the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement has fallen from the billions in penalties each year to the...more
8/27/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Construction Project ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Indictments ,
Market Allocation Scheme ,
Price-Fixing ,
Public Contracts ,
Sherman Act ,
Statutory Violations
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
The Boeing 737 MAX case took another dramatic turn. On July 24, 2024, the Department of Justice filed with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas a proposed plea agreement with Boeing. The plea...more
DOJ and Boeing have entered into a proposed plea agreement that will require judicial scrutiny and determinations of the public interest and the victims’ rights under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3771 [“CVRA”]. ...more
7/31/2024
/ Airplane Accidents ,
Aviation Industry ,
Boeing ,
Corporate Culture ,
Crime Victims ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Internal Controls ,
Plea Agreements ,
Safety Standards ,
White Collar Crimes
On July 9, 2024, District Judge David Hale in Kentucky denied motions to dismiss and motions to suppress filed by four defendants against a criminal case involving ITAR charges for illegal exports of sensitive,...more
7/18/2024
/ Arms Export Control Act ,
China ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Indictments ,
ITAR ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Motion To Suppress
We all know what a “core” sanctions violation looks like. The heartland of such misconduct has been described on numerous occasions in OFAC enforcement actions and settlements. In this environment, however, companies have...more
With the beginning of the “New FCPA” era coined by DOJ’s Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, we now need to focus on third-party risk and sanctions enforcement. The law, the practice, and the risks are important and not just...more
Sigma-Aldrich, Inc., d/b/a MilliporeSigma (“MilliporeSigma”), a U.S. life sciences company based in Massachusetts, escaped criminal charges for export control violations, despite a former sales person’s scheme to illegally...more
5/29/2024
/ China ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Government Investigations ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Life Sciences ,
National Security ,
Wire Fraud
Defendants often face a tough choice — challenge the government’s evidence and if convicted, face significant jail time. On the flip side, defendants who plead guilty and cooperate can earn significant sentencing reductions,...more
The Justice Department is rightly trumpeting its successful sweep of the commodities trading industry. DOJ’s success is reflected in its six separate corporate resolutions and 20 individual convictions, resulting in over...more
Trafigura’s bribery scheme resembles the same schemes implemented by its significant competitors — Vitol, Glencore, Gunvor. At the core of the conduct, Petrobras and Brazilian government officials collected bribes in...more
4/10/2024
/ Brazil ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Petrobras ,
White Collar Crimes
On the heels of the Gunvor FCPA settlement for $661 million, DOJ announced its settlement with Trafigura, the latest commodities trading company to fall under DOJ’s FCPA Sweep against the industry. Trafigura joined the list...more
4/9/2024
/ Bribery ,
Commodities ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice’s blockbuster FCPA settlement with Gunvor restores the credibility of DOJ’s pronouncements of DOJ’s commitment to aggressive FCPA enforcement. While I have questioned DOJ’s commitment to its...more
3/21/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes
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
There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.
Willa Cather I know I sound like a broken record. The Justice Department’s white collar criminal enforcement has been trending down over the last few...more
2/14/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department’s Corporate Enforcement Policies and Program applies to prosecutions outside of the FCPA context. The impact of DOJ’s new approach, encouraging voluntary disclosures, applies to other federal criminal...more
The Antitrust Division has been active – like any aggressive prosecution strategy, however, its results have been mixed. Its record in criminal cases has taken serious hits – a stunning set of losses in the chicken...more
8/30/2023
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Apotex ,
Competition ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Generic Drugs ,
Indictments ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Teva Pharmaceuticals
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
In today’s world of cyber threats, many companies have fallen victim to ransomware attacks. Corporate boards and senior executives face serious issues when their companies are attacked. The payment of ransom is not only...more
6/1/2023
/ Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Hackers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Russia
The Justice Department certainly has altered the landscape of enforcement, compliance priorities, and ultimately corporate decisions surrounding voluntary disclosure. It has become a little bit more complicated to sort out...more
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
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has suffered setbacks in its precedent-setting criminal prosecution of no-poach agreements in labor markets. The latest and perhaps most surprising defeat occurred when the...more
5/4/2023
/ Aerospace ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
No-Poaching ,
Popular
The Justice Department warned companies that sanctions enforcement is the “new FCPA.” DOJ just delivered its first salvo to back up its message....more
5/2/2023
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
North Korea ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Settlement Agreements
The Supreme Court rejected a challenge by Halkbank, a Turkish state-owned bank, to its criminal prosecution for anti-money laundering violations and evasion of Iran Sanctions. In a 7-2 decision, authored by Justice...more
If there ever is an example of a rotten corporate culture, Wells Fargo sits at the head of the class. Since Wells Fargo’s sales pressure scandal, Wells Fargo has continued to suffer from a string of scandals and misconduct. ...more
3/30/2023
/ Banks ,
Code of Conduct ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics ,
Fines ,
Government Investigations ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
OCC ,
Performance Incentives ,
Popular ,
Tone At The Top ,
Wells Fargo