Closing out 2018, OFAC announced its plan to lift sanctions against United Co. Rusal and others, despite bi-partisan opposition from Congress. Simultaneously, OFAC continued to target Russia’s defense and intelligence sectors...more
1/23/2019
/ Counter-Terrorist ,
Drug Trafficking ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Policy ,
General Licenses ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Magnitsky Act ,
North Korea ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Trafficking ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela
The January 2019 FCPA Digest is an invaluable compendium of all FCPA-related developments in 2018, including US foreign bribery proceedings and criminal prosecutions, DOJ foreign bribery civil actions, SEC actions, DOJ...more
1/3/2019
/ Bribery ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Settlement ,
Subsidiaries ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yates Memorandum
Russia remained at the forefront this quarter, as the Trump Administration imposed new measures and markets reacted to the threat of additional, “crushing” sanctions from Congress on Russian sovereign debt. Meanwhile, EU...more
10/17/2018
/ CAATSA ,
Chemical Weapons ,
Counter-Terrorist ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Magnitsky Act ,
North Korea ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
Sovereign Debt ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
Venezuela
On Monday, June 19, 2017, the Supreme Court clarified the limits of specific personal jurisdiction in state courts, holding that a connection between a defendant’s contacts with the forum and the claims at issue remains...more
Last week, Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a stern rebuke to counsel in Fischer v. Forrest for what he viewed as a failure to adhere to the...more
Shearman & Sterling’s bi-annual Trends & Patterns in FCPA Enforcement report provides insightful analysis of recent enforcement trends and patterns in the US, the UK and elsewhere, as well as helpful guidance on emerging best...more
1/4/2017
/ AstraZeneca ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Declination ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
GlaxoSmithKline ,
Internal Controls ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Novartis ,
Nu Skin ,
Odebrecht ,
Popular ,
Qualcomm ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Teva Pharmaceuticals ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers ,
Yates Memorandum
Companies confer title of “Vice President” on a wide range of employees, from senior executives, in some cases, to line-level personnel, in others. While distinguishing someone functioning as a senior executive from someone...more
Vice Chancellor Laster of the Delaware Chancery Court recently issued an important opinion in In Re: Appraisal of Dell Inc.C.A. No. 9322-VCL (May 31, 2016), holding that merger consideration offered to Dell, Inc’s common...more
On May 5, 2016, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that courts should apply the business judgment rule in shareholder lawsuits challenging going-private mergers, as long as shareholders were adequately protected—a decision...more
On April 5, 2016, the United States Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section launched a one-year Pilot Program that invites companies to self-report potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act...more
On November 30, 2015, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed post-trial decisions by the Delaware Court of Chancery (i) holding RBC Capital Markets, LLC liable to Rural/Metro Corp. shareholders for nearly $76 million based upon...more
On November 10, 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit unanimously held in a published opinion that (i) the attorney-client privilege was not waived by appellants-taxpayers who shared a group of documents,...more
Recently, governmental authorities have pursued corruption investigations in Latin America with a vigor traditionally not seen. One potential result is a significant disruption of business. While there are inherent risks in...more
8/12/2015
/ Chief Compliance Officers ,
Complex Corporate Transactions ,
Compliance ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Joint Venture ,
Latin America ,
Lockheed Martin ,
Nokia ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Siemens
Recent enforcement actions by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission have raised the profile of corruption in international sport and highlight unique FCPA compliance concerns. This note will explain...more
6/15/2015
/ BHP Billiton ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Football ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Indictments ,
Match Fixing ,
Olympics ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Soccer ,
Sports ,
World Cup
Recent OFAC and DOJ actions have focused on certain entities – overseas financial institutions – and particular conduct – US dollar clearing and associated “stripping.” The DOJ’s recent $232 million settlement and negotiated...more
4/17/2015
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Facilitation Payments ,
FFI ,
Internal Controls ,
Manufacturers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanctions ,
Schlumberger
On January 22, 2015, the Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts of New York adopted a new rule applicable to the Commercial Division, effective April 1, 2015, that will require parties to provide increased specificity when...more
Improper Gifts Alone, Without Cash Bribes, Serve as Basis for SEC’s Latest FCPA Enforcement Action -
Earlier this week, the SEC announced fines for two former defense contractor employees for FCPA violations relating...more
Last week the SEC settled charges against Layne Christensen for various violations of the FCPA. While a relatively unremarkable case at first glance, the SEC’s charges against Layne Christensen reflect a troubling approach by...more
Earlier today, the Office of the Comptroller General in Brazil, Controladoria-Geral da União (“CGU”), issued a sweeping directive barring government officials from accepting offers to attend or participate in the upcoming...more
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Carlson Wagonlit Travel B.V. (CWT), a Netherlands-based company, have agreed to settle violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACRs) dating back to as...more
Both the United States and the European Union have issued calibrated Ukraine-related sanctions as a direct response to the recent political upheaval in Ukraine. Although both US and EU sanctions target certain persons for...more
In this issue:
- Enforcement Actions and Strategies
- Perennial Statutory Issues
- Unusual Developments
- Compliance Guidance
- Private Litigation
- Enforcement in the United...more
After years of fitful progress and failure, Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and Germany (collectively the “P5+1”)...more