False Claims Act: Implied Certification Theory
The SEC announced its first FCPA enforcement action in 2022. South Korean telecommunications company, KT Corporation, agreed to pay $6.3 million to settle FCPA violations. As part of the settlement, KT Corp. agreed to pay...more
Organizations are comprised of human actors and in the end are defined by human values. In other words, human make mistakes and so do companies. Where things get sticky is when we face challenges and companies, like human,...more
The Justice Department’s criminal investigation of the chicken producing industry continues to gain momentum. Pilgrim’s Pride is the first company to plead guilty and cooperate in the ongoing criminal investigation of the...more
Deutsche Bank’s ethics and compliance function faces numerous challenges. Deutsche Bank has a storied record of scandals, government enforcement actions and failures to abide by prior deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs)....more
When you are hot, you are hot. (And when you are not, you are not; Thank you Jerry Reed, Country Singer). OFAC is hot and resumed its enforcement streak, settling three enforcement actions in three weeks....more
OFAC continues to aggressively enforce its sanctions programs. In its latest enforcement action, OFAC agreed with Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques SCRL (“SITA”), a Swiss telecom company, to an...more
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) recently announced that it is launching an investigation into the foreign gifts reporting practices of two higher education institutions. ...more
OFAC had a big year in 2019 and 2020 looks like a continuation. In the last week, OFAC issued two enforcement actions — Eagle Shipping and Park Strategies....more
Government contractors are no strangers to the numerous quality standards and assurances required by the government. Over the past several years, cybersecurity in federal contracting has emerged as yet another standard to...more
On December 6, 2019, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Ericsson or the Company), resolved long-running investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into the...more
Goldman Sachs is reportedly in negotiations with federal prosecutors to resolve claims about its role in the Malaysian 1MDB scandal for upwards of $2 billion. A settlement—which “could include a guilty plea from Goldman’s...more
I thought Frosty was a good analogy to consider the disgraced Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s former partner Tim Leissner, as he is certainly back again. Yesterday, I begin a two-part blog post series on Leissner’s settlement with...more
Apollo Aviation Group, now Carlyle Aviation Partners, agreed to pay OFAC $210,600 for 12 violations of the Sudanese Sanctions Program. Carlyle acquired Apollo in December 2018, and Carlyle was not involved in the...more
The merger craze keeps on keeping on, with news that Ebay’s selling secondary ticket marketplace StubHub to Viagogo, a smaller rival with a strong presence in Europe helmed by StubHub’s co-founder Eric Baker, for more than $4...more
On November 12, 2019, FinCEN issued its latest Advisory on the Financial Action Task Force-Identified Jurisdictions with Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism Deficiencies and Relevant Actions by the...more
Last week, DOJ announced the indictment of two former Herbalife executives in China for participating in a bribery scheme over a ten-year period. Herbalife, a multi-level marketing company, was not charged and its...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is not known for its aggressive enforcement record. But that may be changing. FINRA recently fined BNP Paribas for $15 million for anti-money laundering deficiencies in the...more
Two charitable foundations that helped patients pay for drug co-payments settled anti-kickback charges for $6 million. The Patient Access Network Foundation (PANF) agreed to pay $4 million and Good Days agreed to pay $2...more
Nine years ago today, on November 4, 2010, was Panalpina Settlement Day which made history for the single largest number of companies to simultaneously settle Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)-related violations. It was...more
As reported by Byron Tau and Aruna Viswanatha in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), “Jho Low, the businessman-turned-fugitive accused of masterminding a multibillion-dollar fraud involving Malaysia’s sovereign-wealth fund, agreed...more
OFAC’s aggressive enforcement program continues to bear fruit. The latest settlement involved GE and three of its subsidiaries, which agreed to pay $2.7 million for 289 alleged violations of the Cuba Sanctions Program. So...more
This week I will be considering the recent spate of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the close of its fiscal year. Last week saw several...more
With corporate compliance and ethics now escalating to be a boardroom concern, and discussions around how to make organisations behave better are happening at the highest levels, what compliance lessons can all organisations...more
Last week Juniper Networks, Inc. (JNPR) resolved their long-standing Foreign Corruption Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement action by settling with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) via a Cease and Desist Order...more
In yet another enforcement action, OFAC announced a $1.709 million settlement with PACCAR, Inc., for 63 apparent violations of the Iran Sanctions Program by DAF Trucks, a wholly-owned subsidiary based in Eindhoven,...more