On February 22, 2023, the US Department of Justice issued a nationwide policy for all US Attorney’s Offices (USAOs) outlining the circumstances in which a company may receive credit for voluntary self-disclosure (VSD)....more
On January 17, 2023, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. (AAG Polite) announced changes to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP). The CEP, which applies to all Criminal...more
1/25/2023
/ Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Declination ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Forfeiture ,
Restitution ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
On September 15, 2022, Department of Justice (DOJ) Deputy Attorney General (Deputy AG) Lisa Monaco announced new guidance for the DOJ’s corporate enforcement policies, which is memorialized in the Memorandum on Further...more
On December 17, 2021, a financial institution agreed to pay $200 million in fines to the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodities Futures Trading Commission for allowing employees to discuss business on their...more
1/7/2022
/ CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Fines ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discovery ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Internal Controls ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
WhatsApp ,
White Collar Crimes
As companies continue to focus on improving their ESG credentials, they are constantly assessing their environmental management systems and compliance programs for potential areas of ESG-related risk. The reason is...more
On October 28, 2021, Deputy Attorney General (Deputy AG) Lisa O. Monaco gave remarks explicitly warning companies that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) intends to increase its efforts and devote additional resources to...more
11/2/2021
/ Compliance ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Government Investigations ,
Individual Accountability ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Policy Statement ,
Professional Misconduct ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yates Memorandum
On October 8, 2020, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Cyber-Digital Task Force issued an 83-page comprehensive “Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework,” (Framework), signaling the DOJ’s increased focus on prosecuting...more
On August 14, 2020, the US Department of Justice (the DOJ) issued its first Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Opinion Procedure Release in six years, which relayed that it did not intend to pursue an enforcement action...more
8/25/2020
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Banks ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fees ,
Foreign Banks ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Multinationals ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Subsidiaries
On June 1, 2020, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released revised guidance for evaluating a company’s corporate compliance program. Since its creation in 2017, the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (Guidance) has...more
The US Department of Justice has taken its first enforcement action against COVID-19 fraud, illustrating its previously stated commitment to prosecute “bad actors” attempting to exploit the global health crisis. On March 22,...more
As we all respond to COVID-19 (the coronavirus), we should keep an eye on the responsive measures being taken by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), and consider how those measures might impact companies and individuals...more
On February 26, 2020, the US District Court for the District of Connecticut reinforced the Second Circuit’s recent decision to limit prosecutors’ ability to pursue Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) charges against foreign...more
3/4/2020
/ Acquittals ,
Agency Relationship ,
Alstom ,
Bribery ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Indictments ,
Jurisdiction ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subsidiaries
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is increasingly using the money laundering statute to prosecute individuals in corruption and bribery cases. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is the primary statute prohibiting...more
11/12/2019
/ Alstom ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Equador ,
Extortion ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Forfeiture ,
Indictments ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Laundering Control Act (MLCA) of 1986 ,
Venezuela ,
Willful Misconduct
On May 2, 2019, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued guidance titled “A Framework for OFAC Compliance Commitments” (Guidance), providing direction regarding what OFAC considers to...more
5/15/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Audits ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Management ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dubai ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Guidance Update ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HKSFC) ,
Internal Controls ,
Monetary Authority of Singapore ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Personal Liability ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Singapore ,
Training ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK
Last week, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released its updated guidance on how prosecutors should evaluate corporate compliance programs. The revised guidance reiterates and expands on the hallmarks of successful...more
Employers commonly use non-compete agreements to protect the use of their trade secrets and other confidential business information from employers who leave to join competitors. New York State appears poised to join a number...more
On March 6, 2019, Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (MTS) consented to pay an $850 million sanction—the largest Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) criminal penalty ever paid to the United States—and to a three-year monitorship to...more
On November 29, 2018, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) modified prior guidance on individual liability for corporate misconduct by affording federal prosecutors discretion to focus on “individuals who play significant roles...more
On August 24, 2018, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in United States v. Hoskins rejected the government’s broad reading of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and ruled that a foreign national without ties...more
On June 4, 2018, Société Générale S.A., together with a subsidiary of the Paris-based global financial services institution, announced an agreement with both French and American authorities to resolve charges relating to...more
6/13/2018
/ Bribery ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cross-Border ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Governments ,
France ,
Libor ,
Multinationals ,
Popular ,
Price Manipulation
On May 9, 2018, in speech before the New York City Bar White Collar Crime Institute, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein stated the US Department of Justice (DOJ) will implement a new policy to discourage multiple...more
On November 29, 2017, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a revised Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Corporate Enforcement Policy and sweetened the deal for companies that self-report instances of foreign bribery....more
Companies face ever-increasing pressures to implement mechanisms designed to prevent or effectively address employee malfeasance. In today’s environment, even companies who appear to be cooperating with investigative and...more