The Justice Department is encouraging companies to voluntarily disclose criminal violations — “Come in and confess” and DOJ offers promises of a declination. But even a declination comes with a requirement — the company has...more
9/4/2024
/ Angola ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fines ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Popular ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
DOJ is joining the whistleblower reward sweepstakes in a big way. While the SEC has been grabbing headlines for its whistleblower reward program since 2010, DOJ now wants a piece of the action. DOJ cited gaps that exist...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
In this new aggressive era of sanctions and export controls enforcement, companies need to understand the potential risks that DOJ and/or OFAC may identify a company for sanctions investigation....more
5/14/2024
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Customs ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Policy ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) ,
Whistleblowers
The Justice Department has a long and rich history of targeting dominant companies using antitrust monopolization tools — looking back to the 1980s, it was AT&T; in the 1990s, it was Microsoft; and in 2023, DOJ has brought a...more
As always, I tend to repeat myself. However, one important point needs to be repeated — DOJ is in the midst of launching an aggressive sanctions and export control program against corporations and individuals. DOJ has...more
1/23/2024
/ Corruption ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
Life is always filled with surprises. Just when we thought 2023 was a “slow” FCPA enforcement year, DOJ and SEC announced a large enforcement action against SAP for approximately $220 million for FCPA violations in South...more
1/16/2024
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
SAP America Inc. ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
When it comes to OFAC sanctions violations, honesty is the best policy. Promptly and voluntarily disclosing violations upon their discovery can pay serious dividends.
...more
12/15/2023
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Nasdaq ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
Subsidiaries ,
Voluntary Disclosure
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has a message for publicly-traded companies that suffer a data breach: own up.
On Monday, the SEC sued Texas-based SolarWinds––and its Chief Information Security Officer...more
11/2/2023
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Information Technology ,
Investment Fraud ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SolarWinds
It looks like the days of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” are numbered. The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced Thursday that it had imposed sanctions on two entities, and...more
10/13/2023
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Infrastructure ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Vessels
One thing you can count on — change. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but not to be too dramatic, we are at the precipice of some significant technology trends that will have a profound impact on corporate...more
10/12/2023
/ Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Compliance ,
Data Preservation ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Google ,
Internal Investigations ,
Popular ,
Regular Business Communications
Albemarle’s bribery schemes look and sound like text-book examples of third-party agents being paid high commissions as a way to funnel bribery payments to foreign officials at state-owned oil refineries. However, as usual,...more
10/3/2023
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Entities ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Relationships ,
White Collar Crimes
The past few weeks have not been kind to 3M. The company recently settled with the SEC for $6.5 million to resolve alleged FCPA violations related to its Chinese subsidiary’s dealings with Chinese state-owned healthcare...more
9/28/2023
/ Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
General Licenses ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes
On September 27, 2023, the United States Department of Commerce’s Office of Antiboycott Compliance, a division of the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), publicized an unanticipated and relatively rare enforcement action...more
9/13/2023
/ Antiboycott Requirements ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Popular ,
US Trade Policies
Construction Specialties, Inc. (“CSI”), a U.S. company specializing in the sale of building materials, agreed to pay $660,594 to settle its liability for three violations of OFAC’s sanctions on Iran. CSI’s illegal conduct...more
8/24/2023
/ Compliance ,
Construction Industry ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Multinationals ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
White Collar Crimes
Corporate boards face a panoply of risks – and the nature of these risks are quickly evolving. Cybersecurity has quickly risen to the top of the list of corporate risks. Add to that the new SEC regulations on cybersecurity...more
8/22/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Board of Directors ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Innovative Technology ,
Machine Learning ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On July 31, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) formally charged the enigmatic crypto-personality Richard Heart (whose real name, as I learned from the complaint, is Richard Schueler) and his three...more
8/17/2023
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethereum ,
Financial Instruments ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Offerings ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
On July 13, 2022, Judge Analisa Torres issued her long awaited ruling on the summary judgment motions in the SEC’s case against Ripple Labs, Inc. (“Ripple”). The 34-page order provided a win for both the SEC and for Ripple...more
We are all familiar with the mantra on the importance of managing third-party risk to prevent anti-corruption, sanctions, money laundering and associated risks. Over the last ten years, however, we have observed a new and...more
Bank of America joined the club of consumer abusers – Wells Fargo had been the well-established leader of this club and the poster-child for abusive consumer practices.
For years, Bank of America avoided federal...more
7/18/2023
/ Bank of America ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Cross-Selling ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OCC ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The term cybersecurity is thrown about because it covers so many risks. There is no common definition of cybersecurity and the technical elements included in the term. From a technical standpoint, cybersecurity covers...more
If you ask corporate board members and senior executives to list their number one risk (other than financial operations), the answer in today’s risk environment is clear – cybersecurity and data privacy. The rapid elevation...more
Whenever new technologies emerge or new pots of government funds for assistance are available, you can count on one thing (as the sun rises and sets) – fraudsters will figure out a way to steal money from innocent persons and...more
7/5/2023
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Funding ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Investors ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Popular ,
Telehealth
Corporate compliance programs in the healthcare industry include many of the same elements that we are all familiar with – risk assessments, code of ethics, written policies and procedures, comprehensive training...more
6/28/2023
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Data Privacy ,
Ethics ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Medical Billing Codes ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Stark Law
With the recent release of ChatGPT, we are witnessing the exponential adoption of a new technology, new “large language models” (LLMs) that without question will transform society. It reminds me of the famous computer...more