On February 10, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order pausing enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") by the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") for 180 days and ordering Attorney General...more
The Situation: In September 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ" or "Department") announced updates to its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs guidance covering three primary areas: (1) the risks of artificial...more
10/11/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emerging Technologies ,
Employees ,
Machine Learning ,
New Guidance ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Safe Harbors ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
The Development: On August 1, 2024, the Department of Justice's ("DOJ") Criminal Division announced its Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program ("Pilot Program"), designed to reward whistleblowers who report information...more
8/20/2024
/ CFTC ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Money Laundering ,
Pilot Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
The Development: On April 15, 2024, the Department of Justice ("DOJ") Criminal Division announced a pilot program that will offer mandatory non-prosecution agreements ("NPAs") to individuals who provide original and...more
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") and the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") are updating language in document requests and compulsory process to address companies' increased use of collaboration...more
2/7/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Data Preservation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Government Investigations ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
New Guidance ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement continues to slowly rebound from pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) resolved 13 corporate FCPA...more
In light of the DOJ’s most recent guidance on the use of personal devices and third-party messaging applications by corporate personnel, this White Paper addresses issues and challenges that companies are facing in this area...more
10/18/2023
/ CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Guidance Update ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Mobile Devices ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Workplace Communication
Under a new U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") policy related to mergers and acquisitions ("M&A"), DOJ will decline to prosecute an acquiring company for misconduct by an acquired company where the acquiring company timely...more
In Short -
The Situation: As a follow-up to the deputy attorney general's September 2022 memorandum, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ" or "Department") announced in March 2023 significant updates to its corporate...more
On February 22, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ" or "Department") announced the Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy ("VSD Policy" or "Policy"), detailing the circumstances under which a company can receive credit for...more
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement has yet to rebound from the immediate pre-pandemic period. In 2022, DOJ and SEC resolved eight corporate FCPA matters for $878 million, including four resolutions coordinated...more
3/3/2023
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In Short -
The Situation: On January 17, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ" or "Department") announced significant revisions to the Criminal Division's Corporate Enforcement Policy....more
In Short -
The Situation: On September 15, 2022, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced significant changes and updates to the Department of Justice's corporate criminal enforcement policies. ...more
The Biden administration took office in January 2021, announcing aggressive and sweeping anticorruption initiatives to tackle corruption around the world, labeling corruption a national security priority, and signaling a...more
1/28/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
Introduction In the first 10 months of the Biden administration, senior DOJ officials have signaled a renewed focus on corporate criminal and civil enforcement against companies and individuals. ...more
On June 3, 2021, President Biden issued a memorandum declaring anticorruption efforts to be "a core United States national security interest" and announcing a plan to "significantly bolster" anticorruption enforcement. While...more
6/22/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Financial Crimes ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Interagency Guidance ,
Money Laundering ,
National Security ,
Strategic Planning ,
White Collar Crimes
In 2020, the biggest Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) headline was the record-shattering global anticorruption enforcement fines and penalties collected by foreign regulators in actions involving a coordinated FCPA...more
1/13/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") is a U.S. federal law from the late 1970s that prohibits covered entities and individuals from directly or indirectly paying bribes to non-U.S. government officials to obtain or...more
The Situation: On July 3, 2020, the Department of Justice ("DOJ") and the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") published a second edition of the "Resource Guide to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act," almost eight years...more
7/14/2020
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Civil Forfeiture ,
Compliance ,
Controlled Foreign Corporations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) ,
FCPA Resource Guide ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Situation: The Department of Justice ("DOJ") has updated its "Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs" guidance for prosecutors.
The Result: The updates provide additional insights into the factors the DOJ is...more
6/11/2020
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Internal Controls ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Strategic Planning ,
White Collar Crimes
In the third year of the Trump Administration, the biggest Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") headlines were record corporate fines and penalties, and a banner year of individual FCPA enforcement highlighted by three DOJ...more
2/5/2020
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Officials ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
Under the second year of the Trump Administration, the biggest story was the increase of corporate declinations one year after the DOJ adopted a permanent FCPA policy incentivizing self-disclosure, cooperation, and...more
1/16/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Self-Reporting ,
Subsidiaries ,
Trump Administration ,
White Collar Crimes
On June 5, 2017, in an unanimous ruling in Kokesh v. SEC, No. 16-529, the United States Supreme Court significantly limited the breadth of the Securities and Exchange Commission's primary enforcement tool. The Court held that...more
6/7/2017
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Punitive Damages ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Statute of Limitations
On February 8, 2017, the United States Department of Justice ("DOJ") Fraud Section published a blueprint for assessing corporate compliance efforts, titled "Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs" ("Guidance"). It...more
3/2/2017
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Board of Directors ,
Compliance ,
Confidential Communications ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Sentencing Guidelines ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
Internal Investigations ,
New Guidance ,
OECD ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senior Managers ,
Third-Party Relationships ,
Training