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
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
Bryn Sedlacek, Vice President, Product Manager at Aravo, joins us on the podcast to discuss third-party risk management with a focus on holistic risks and unified visibility. In a wide-ranging discussion, Mike Volkov and Bryn...more
In a pair of rulings issued near the end of the last Term, Fischer v. United States and Snyder v. United States, the Supreme Court continued to cut back on the Justice Department’s interpretation and enforcement of criminal...more
7/11/2024
/ Bribery ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Fischer v United States ,
Gifts ,
Illegal Gratuities ,
Public Officials ,
SCOTUS ,
Snyder v United States ,
Statutory Interpretation
In a historic decision, the Supreme Court struck down the forty-year-old agency deference rule established in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. In two separate decisions, the Supreme Court ruled in Loper Bright...more
In this new era of aggressive sanctions enforcement, companies have to understand the red lines that define where criminal and civil enforcement risk increase. In contrast to the history of FCPA enforcement, DOJ and OFAC...more
In a recent decision, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to reject the Securities and Exchange Commission’s use of in-house administrative proceedings to adjudicate securities fraud...more
7/2/2024
/ Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Seventh Amendment
LRN has issued another important report -- in its latest report, The 2024 Benchmark of Ethical Culture Report, LRN has focused on the critical issue of corporate culture. LRN is a pacesetter and the leader in reliable...more
OFAC has been busy and not so busy — what do I mean?
OFAC is administering a complex set of coordinated sanctions against Russia, in close coordination with the EU and the UK....more
Dottie Schindlinger is Executive Director of Diligent Institute, the global corporate governance research arm of Diligent - the largest SaaS software company in the Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC), and ESG space. Diligent...more
Checklists can be handy — by simplifying and focusing on specific issues, a checklist can organize thinking and prioritize tasks.
Here are five (5) questions that are fairly simple but revealing as to whether a company’s...more
A new compliance cottage industry surrounds artificial intelligence. We are at such an early stage of AI development, and companies are still figuring out how they can employ the technology. However, some industries, such as...more
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
In this new era of aggressive sanctions enforcement, companies have to understand the red lines that define where criminal and civil enforcement risk increase. In contrast to the history of FCPA enforcement, DOJ and OFAC...more
LRN’s research consistently paints a picture that every board member, senior executive and middle manager should view — corporate culture is an organization’s most valuable intangible asset and is a significant determinant...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
In its latest report, The 2024 Benchmark of Ethical Culture Report, LRN has focused on the critical issue of corporate culture. LRN is a pacesetter and the leader in reliable studies on complex ethics and compliance issues....more
We are at an important inflection point — AI technologies are rapidly developing; we are witnessing a historic metamorphosis in the technology, the impact on businesses and society and important steps being taken to regulate...more
The new compliance cottage industry surrounds artificial intelligence. We are at such an early stage of AI development — companies are still figuring out how they can employ the technology. Some industries, such as...more
On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed into law a sweeping national security legislative package that included the 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act, which includes measures to promote sanctions and export controls...more
5/30/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
China ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Policy ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
National Security ,
New Legislation ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
TWEA
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
It may seem like a Herculean task — but it can be done. I regularly opine that mitigating sanctions risks for your third-party population is an easier task than doing so for your anti-corruption risks. One big reason —...more
While OFAC’s enforcement actions and guidance points to important steps exporters must take when relying on third-party distributors and other intermediaries, the “reason to know” and affirmative obligations to monitor resale...more
5/23/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Sanction Violations ,
Suppliers ,
Supply Chain ,
Third-Party Risk ,
Trade Agreements
Companies rely on robust distribution chains as an efficient mechanism to enter new markets without requiring a significant investment. Additionally, companies may maintain parallel sales activities in markets between their...more
Sorry to start a four-part series with a reference to music from our long-ago past. The Four Tops sang the “Same Old Song, with a Different Meaning” (released in 1965). So, how does that relate to third-party risks? Well,...more
5/21/2024
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party Risk ,
White Collar Crimes