The Securities and Exchange Commission’s bread-and-butter enforcement actions focus on accounting fraud. The SEC has a long history in uncovering fraudulent financial reporting schemes. In the early 2000s, Wall Street was...more
After a long hiatus, the SEC announced a settlement with WPP plc, the world’s largest advertising group, for FCPA violations in India, China, Brazil and Peru for $19.2 million. The SEC’s resolution charges WPP with...more
Recently, the SEC announced a settlement with Kraft Foods for $62 million and with two Kraft executives for financial reporting misstatements. Along with the corporate settlement with Kraft, the SEC announced proposed...more
It is one thing to wake up and find yourself as the lead story on a Sunday morning when the New York Times (NYT) runs a corruption story about your organization above the fold. It is quite another when the world’s top...more
Yesterday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced three charges against Jose Carlos Grubisich, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Braskem S.A. (Braskem), a publicly traded Brazilian petrochemical company, for his...more
The Justice Department and the SEC have launched criminal and civil accounting fraud investigations against Under Armour. The sportswear maker has been suffering a rapid revenue decline over the last few years....more
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) prohibits payment of bribes to foreign officials to assist with obtaining or retaining business. It also requires companies whose securities are listed in the US to make and keep...more
In a December 2018 enforcement settlement, the SEC and Brazil’s Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras S.A. (“Eletrobras”) agreed to violating books and records and internal accounting controls requirements and paid a $2.5 million...more
Over this two-part blog post series, I have been considering the Stryker Corporation 2018 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement action brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)....more
Stryker Corporation has suffered a second FCPA enforcement action, and will now bear the stigma of FCPA “recidivist.” In reaching a settlement with the SEC and agreeing to pay a $7.8 million civil penalty, Stryker will now...more
After a lengthy investigation, Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) settled an FCPA enforcement action with the Securities and Exchange Commission for $9 million. ...more
The Panasonic Avionics (PAC) FCPA enforcement settlement for $280 million with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission contains a number of important lessons learned. ...more
As the nattering nabobs of negativism continued to claim that FCPA enforcement was on the decline, the Justice Department and the SEC settled a major FCPA enforcement action with Panasonic Avionics (PAC), a subsidiary of...more
We continue our exploration of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement action involving Panasonic Avionics Corporation (PAC) and its parent Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic)....more
We continue our exploration of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement action involving Panasonic Avionics Corporation (PAC) and its parent Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic). Today, I want to review the bribery...more
The compliance community is well aware of the risks in the C-Suite. As you move up the corporate ladder, the level of risk from executive misconduct increases. A rotten executive can quickly bring down a company, destroy...more
As we look across the corporate governance landscape and focus on the spikes of corporate scandals, I started to wonder if there was any pattern or trend to the nature of corporate scandals....more
Two executives were charged last week with criminal violations in the Southern District of New York relating to Valeant Pharmaceuticals activities. These charges are the first of more to come in an ongoing investigation...more
Embraer SA, Brazil's flagship aerospace manufacturer and a worldwide competitor across various aviation markets, experienced first-hand the scope and reach of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Embraer agreed to pay...more
In late September 2016, Andrew Ceresney, Director of Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), signaled the SEC’s renewed focus on the key role played by audit committee members and external auditors as...more
Since the SEC announced the formation of its Financial Fraud Task Force two years ago the agency has struggled to establish this once enforcement mainstay as a current staple. Some commentators have suggested that a trend is...more
Ed. Note-today we have a guest post from Jean-Michel Ferat ,CPA, CFF is a Managing Director in the Washington D.C office of the Claro Group around his views on the BHP Billiton enforcement action. Much has been made in...more
Increased anti-money laundering (AML) regulation enforcement by federal and state agencies in recent months should have financial institutions across the country reviewing and strengthening their in-house AML policies and...more
It is almost a government rite of passage – when a new leader takes the reins, the chessboard has to be reorganized to reflect the new leader’s “new priorities.” When it comes to the SEC, and the new Chairwoman Mary Jo...more