This Week in FCPA-Episode 216 - the 1MDB Moves Towards Resolution edition
12 O'Clock High, a podcast on business leadership-Business Leadership Failures from 2019-Goldman Sachs
Top Five Corporate Scandals of 2018: Episode II-1MDB and Goldman Sachs
Designed for busy in-house counsel, compliance professionals, and anti-corruption lawyers, this newsletter summarizes some of the most important international anti-corruption law and enforcement developments from the past...more
The end of the road for Roger Ng, the Goldman Sachs Investment Banker, who played a critical role in the Goldman Sachs 1 MDB Malaysia scandal, was not a pretty one. District Judge Margo Brodie gave Ng a severe sentence of...more
Contrary to the often-repeated narrative, the Justice Department is transparent about its enforcement plans and compliance expectations. Since the issuance of the FCPA Guidance in 2012, DOJ has continued to provide guidance...more
On the top of its record of success, DOJ won two big and highly-contested cases. The first against Elizabeth Holmes and the second against Roger Ng. In perhaps one of its most significant failures, DOJ was handed a quick...more
The scandal emanating from the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad fund (1MDB) continues to ripple through criminal law enforcement and criminal prosecutions. ...more
More details on that massive ransomware hack that hit Colonial Pipeline over the weekend. The FBI has confirmed that hacking group DarkSide was responsible and that it’s “looking for any ties the group might have to...more
Bear with me for a second, but remember Presidential Candidate Romney’s statement in 2011 that “Corporations are people.” Starting with that premise, my so-called “Person” of the Year award for 2020 goes to, drumroll . . ....more
The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission had another record year of enforcement. In fact, the last four years of FCPA enforcement included two years of record enforcement – 2019 and 2020. After...more
The breadth of Goldman Sachs’ corruption in the recent DOJ and SEC FCPA enforcement action underscored the important global goal of reducing corruption. It goes without saying – corruption has a pernicious impact on economic...more
Report on Supply Chain Compliance 3, no. 21 (October 29, 2020) - Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay a penalty of USD 2.2 billion for its role in the robbing of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a Malaysian development...more
It would be a mistake to think that the $2.9 billion settlement Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has agreed to pay in order to resolve allegations of widespread bribes to government officials in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates...more
Goldman Sachs has a new leadership role – unfortunately, it is for corruption. It would be a serious mistake to characterize or describe the Goldman corruption scheme as the result of a few, bad actors. Instead, Goldman...more
Goldman Sachs now sits atop all charts with the largest US FCPA bribery penalty, totaling approximately $2.9 billion. The second largest is Ericsson’s 2019 FCPA settlement for $1 billion....more
The Justice Department finally closed out its investigation of Goldman Sachs’ massive bribery scheme involving Malaysia’s 1MDB fund. The case is now the largest in US FCPA history (based on its payment to DOJ and related US...more
As yet another example of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) increasing enforcement efforts with respect to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), DOJ recently unsealed a charge of conspiracy to violate FARA...more
PE-backed Inspire Brands is in negotiations to take over Dunkin’ Brands Group, the parent of both Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins, in a deal valued at nearly $9 billion. Inspire includes Buffalo Wild Wings and Jimmy John’s among...more
A California appeals court has affirmed a lower court decision requiring Uber and Lyft to “treat their California drivers as employees, providing them with the benefits and wages they are entitled to under state labor law.”...more
The former deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee and prominent fundraiser for President Trump has agreed to plead guilty with lobbying on behalf of Jho Low, an indicted and fugitive financier, who was...more
Yesterday’s jobless numbers were down a bit from a week earlier but still topped 800,000 for the 4th week in a row. “Claims remain above the pre-pandemic peak of 695,000 and are higher than in any previous recession for...more
In order to provide an overview for busy in-house counsel and compliance professionals, we summarize below some of the most important international anti-corruption developments from the past month, with links to primary...more
As the international fight against corruption took two small steps forward this week in the 1MDB case, Tom and Jay brave the surge in Covid cases by staying safe at home. They are back to look at top compliance articles and...more
Goldman Sachs has reached a deal for $3.9 billion with the Malaysian government to resolve allegations of wrongdoing related to the massive 1MDB scandal. Goldman was the “main banker for the Malaysian fund” and raised...more
Report on Supply Chain Compliance 3, no. 13 (June 25, 2020) - Jho Low, the alleged mastermind behind the looting of Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad, has been using his connections to Kuwaiti...more
The Fed is expected to hold rates steady as its June Open Market Committee meeting wraps today. Analysts expect that the better-than-expected May jobs numbers won’t be nearly enough for the central bank to suggest it is close...more
Not exactly stop-the-presses stuff at this point in the relationship, but negotiators from the U.S. and China have officially been in touch and agreed to keep talking as they work to implement the bilateral trade deal signed...more