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
How can companies ensure that their compliance programs are robust enough to handle today’s complex ethical challenges?
In this episode, Michael Volkov dives into the critical components of conducting an internal compliance...more
Boeing’s Plea Agreement includes two Separate Factual Statements — the January 7, 2021 DPA, which is discussed in a prior blog post, and a factual outline of Boeing’s breach of the original DPA, resulting in the current Plea...more
8/1/2024
/ Aircraft ,
Airplane Accidents ,
Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Aviation Industry ,
Boeing ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corruption ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Internal Controls ,
White Collar Crimes
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
NAVEX delivers quality studies and important insights on ethics and compliance topics. In its 2024 State of Risk & Compliance, NAVEX provides a comprehensive report on current trends and practices involving risk and...more
In a significant expansion of internal controls enforcement, the SEC announced a $2.1 million settlement with R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. (“RRD”) for its handling of a 2021 ransomware attack and resulting disclosure failures. ...more
One of the many great experiences I have been fortunate to have in my career is to meet some impressive leaders – at the Department of Justice, on Capitol Hill, and in corporations. To focus on the latter, I have met some...more
One of the benefits of old(er) age is perspective and experience. (As we age, we have to find the positive reasons to tout). If there is one thing (of many) the compliance profession has demonstrated, it is that compliance...more
On September 29, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged several firms with recordkeeping failures. These recordkeeping failures relate to pervasive and longstanding off-channel communications. Generally,...more
We all agree on the importance of corporate culture. Everyone gets it – corporate leaders mouth the words but rarely understand the nuances, and the need to attend to a company’s culture. Compliance professionals want to...more
The Ethics and Compliance Initiative (“ECI”) is a terrific organization that provides important ethics and compliance insights and leadership. Starting in 1994, ECI has conducted a longitudinal, cross-section study of...more
How much is an effective Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) Compliance Program Worth?
For Toronto-Dominion Bank (“TD”), the answer is at least $225 million––the amount that TD must now pay to First Horizon Bank, after backing...more
5/25/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Crimes ,
Internal Controls ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
OCC ,
Popular
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
Once defined, installed, and surrounded with a consequence management system, a corporate culture is not fixed in stone. To the contrary, as the business adapts through growth, innovation or in response to outside market and...more
The Justice Department’s recent emphasis on ethics and compliance culture, along with greater specificity on “consequence management” is a welcome breath of fresh air. It is a policy coming for a long time and will bring...more
LRN continues to provide important insights and trends on the importance of ethics and compliance programs. LRN’s annual report is an important resource and needs to be reviewed by the board, senior management and all...more
Here are some basic propositions that surround FCPA compliance. It is often underplayed that the FCPA contains more than just a bribery prohibition – the FCPA contains broad provisions, requiring accurate books and records...more
2/8/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Ethics ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
White Collar Crimes
On top of all the legal trouble for FTX’s founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”), the company has also filed for bankruptcy and SBF has been ousted as CEO. John J. Ray III, an attorney and bankruptcy professional, has...more
12/22/2022
/ Books & Records ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disbursement Issues ,
Financial Statements ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Trading Platforms
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
It is easy to be dogmatic in blog postings — to express an unvarnished opinion that sounds valid. While it may not be supported by hard data or valid evidence, compliance officers are used to trusting their “gut feelings,”...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s bread-and-butter enforcement actions focus on accounting fraud. The SEC has a long history in uncovering fraudulent financial reporting schemes. In the early 2000s, Wall Street was...more
Oracle’s SEC settlement for $23 million underscores the power of the FCPA provisions mandating effective internal controls and accurate books and records. As everyone knows, these provisions can be applied to a wide-range of...more
10/4/2022
/ Books & Records ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Oracle ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Third-Party Risk
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
Chief compliance officers rely on several important sources for feedback — internal data and communications (reviews with board, senior managers, employees); and benchmarking against comparable organizations. An internal...more
Compliance professionals are used to internal struggles for influence and resources. Chief compliance officers have devoted years and years to justifying the need to elevate and empower the compliance function. For years,...more