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
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
C.H. Robinson International Inc. (CHR), a Minnesota-based global transportation and logistics company, has agreed to pay $257,690 to settle civil liability for 82 apparent violations of sanctions against Iran and Cuba...more
1/14/2025
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cuba ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ports ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sanction Violations ,
Settlement ,
Shipping
Despite a relatively slow year in OFAC sanctions enforcement, OFAC closed 2024 with a string of settlements in five cases, including its second in 2024 against an individual defendant. While OFAC had a slow year, DOJ...more
1/9/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations
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
The Justice Department and the SEC finished 2024 with a coordinated resolution of criminal and civil FCPA charges against AAR Corporation, an Illinois-based provider of aviation products and services. In addition, DOJ...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
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’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
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
Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. (Teva USA) and Teva Neuroscience Inc. (“Teva”) agreed to pay $450 million to resolve two matters that allege Teva violated the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the False Claims Act (FCA). Teva is...more
10/23/2024
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Co-payments ,
Drug Pricing ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Generic Drugs ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicare ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Teva Pharmaceuticals
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
TD Banks’ complete compliance disaster was reflected in every aspect of TD Bank’s business and compliance operations. It is not surprising that TD Bank’s deficient BSA and AML compliance program was known by its Board of...more
10/18/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
OCC ,
White Collar Crimes