The Justice Department’s six-month pause on FCPA enforcement has left a gap in the global anti-corruption fight. The Justice Department played a critical role in coordinating international efforts and enforcement. in the...more
4/29/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
California ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
France ,
Government Agencies ,
Switzerland ,
UK
How prepared is your organization to handle the evolving landscape of sanctions compliance? In this episode of Corruption, Crime and Compliance, Michael Volkov dives into critical sanctions compliance cases and their...more
Is your company prepared for the compliance storm ahead?
With tariffs shaking global trade, aggressive sanctions enforcement, and new risks from AI, businesses must rethink their strategies. Can your compliance program keep...more
Are You Ready for the Next Wave of Corporate Risk?
Corporate risks are shifting, and every board, C-suite, and compliance team must take a fresh look at their risk landscape.
While some risks like cybersecurity, data...more
We live in a topsy-turvy world. This is an exaggeration but sets up my points in this blog post. We are now seeing the shuffling of corporate risks and every board, C-Suite and legal, compliance and risk management team has...more
2/18/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
International Trade ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Trump Administration
What happens when an entire era of anti-corruption enforcement is put on pause?
Is this a strategic move to bolster American businesses or a dangerous rollback of corporate accountability?
In an unprecedented move, the...more
The dust is settling and for all the drama surrounding the Trump Administration’s refocus on FCPA enforcement, the picture is becoming a little bit clearer. When cooler heads prevail, it is much easier to pick through the...more
2/14/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
As we continue through the maze of Executive Orders and new Guidance, which is expected in 180 days, the questions surrounding FCPA enforcement are swirling. In some respects, we have had a preview. It is hard to know what...more
2/12/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
National Security ,
OECD ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Freeze ,
RICO ,
White Collar Crimes
What an amazing turn of events? — Who would have predicted that the Trump Administration would take such a bold action in the name of advancing “American Competitiveness.” I admit I did not see this coming — the Trump...more
2/12/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
In an unprecedented action, the Trump Administration pushed the button and ended FCPA enforcement, at least for 180 days, until new guidance is issued by the Department of Justice. The White House’s announcement seemed to...more
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
Can the DOJ’s commitment to holding individuals and corporations accountable under the FCPA survive the changing political climate in 2025?
Will the push for innovation in corporate compliance programs be enough to maintain...more
Enforcement and compliance prognosticators (like myself) continued to push DOJ’s promise to transform sanctions enforcement into the era of “the new FCPA.” While DOJ’s promise to bring about an aggressive corporate...more
1/22/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Crimes ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
White Collar Crimes
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
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
How did a high-stakes bribery scheme involving insider deals, Airbus planes, and secret payments bring down a global aviation giant?
In this episode, Michael Volkov dives deep into the AAR Corporation FCPA case—a cautionary...more
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
What went wrong when McKinsey paid bribes to secure consulting contracts with South Africa's state-owned enterprises?
In this episode, Michael Volkov dives into the December 2024 DOJ settlement with McKinsey & Company,...more
Deja Vu all over again — Yogi Berra Yogi Berra said it best — we have seen this scenario before, with similar parties — corrupt foreign officials from Eskom (and Transnet), local partner requirements resulting in engagement...more
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