How will the DOJ's new corporate whistleblower pilot program reshape the enforcement of corporate criminal conduct?
In this episode of Corruption, Crime, and Compliance, Michael Volkov explores the Department of Justice's...more
DOJ is pushing hard for voluntary disclosures and urging companies to take advantage of its Voluntary Disclosure Program. The carrot is significant — a declination in exchange for cooperation, remediation and disgorgement....more
9/5/2024
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fines ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Settlement ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
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
Compliance lessons are life lessons. Compliance professionals are, by their nature, optimistic people. They see challenges as new opportunities to strive closer to an ideal. Compliance professionals live in the shadow of...more
While FCPA enforcement against companies has been relatively quiet this year, despite a strong beginning to the year — the SAP case for $220 million; and the Gunvor case for $661 million — DOJ has been pushing a number of...more
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
DOJ is feeling the heat. Corporate criminal enforcement numbers are down. in fairness, DOJ has been pushing individual criminal enforcement as an effective deterrent to corporate misconduct. Criminal prosecutions, when done...more
8/20/2024
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Fraud ,
Money Laundering ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
White Collar Crimes
The Boeing 737 MAX case took another dramatic turn. On July 24, 2024, the Department of Justice filed with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas a proposed plea agreement with Boeing. The plea...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
Listen to this conversation between Michael Volkov and Halyna Senyk in which they focus on Ukraine's anti-corruption efforts amidst the backdrop of its ongoing war with Russia. Halyna Senyk, an expert from the CEELI...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
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
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
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
Defendants often face a tough choice — challenge the government’s evidence and if convicted, face significant jail time. On the flip side, defendants who plead guilty and cooperate can earn significant sentencing reductions,...more
The increase in internal reporting comes at a critical time when government-sponsored whistleblower programs are maturing and expanding into new agencies. The SEC’s program continues to increase and received a record number...more
As DOJ, OFAC and BIS ramp up sanctions and export controls enforcement, they have continued to provide important compliance guidance. You have to give the enforcement agencies credit — on the one hand, they regularly warn of...more
4/18/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
White Collar Crimes
The Justice Department is rightly trumpeting its successful sweep of the commodities trading industry. DOJ’s success is reflected in its six separate corporate resolutions and 20 individual convictions, resulting in over...more
Trafigura’s bribery scheme resembles the same schemes implemented by its significant competitors — Vitol, Glencore, Gunvor. At the core of the conduct, Petrobras and Brazilian government officials collected bribes in...more
4/10/2024
/ Brazil ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Petrobras ,
White Collar Crimes
On the heels of the Gunvor FCPA settlement for $661 million, DOJ announced its settlement with Trafigura, the latest commodities trading company to fall under DOJ’s FCPA Sweep against the industry. Trafigura joined the list...more
4/9/2024
/ Bribery ,
Commodities ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
White Collar Crimes
DOJ has been on a public relations campaign to push a simple message for corporations: if companies learn of misconduct, companies should disclose such misconduct to earn valuable benefits. The quintessential question...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission has gained well-publicized traction through its formal whistleblower bounty program. Only a small portion of these whistleblower reports involve FCPA, anti-bribery allegations. ...more