Day 24 | CCO authority and independence
Since October 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been implementing a variety of changes to its corporate criminal enforcement policies. These efforts all reflect DOJ’s focus on individual accountability, punishing...more
Drawing on a carrot and stick approach, Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”) guidance in 2023 focused heavily on incentivizing companies to voluntarily self-disclose their misconduct. This guidance included the...more
On April 15, 2024 the Criminal Division of the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) launched a pilot program to encourage voluntary self-disclosures by offering mandatory non-prosecution agreements (“NPAs”) to individuals who...more
There were recently two significant speeches by Department of Justice (DOJ) officials at the American Bar Association National Institute on White Collar Crime. The first was by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. The second...more
On January 10, 2024, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) introduced the SDNY Whistleblower Pilot Program (“Pilot Program”), aimed at encouraging individuals to disclose...more
Publicly announced Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement activity in 2023 did not return to the levels seen a few years ago, as indicated by both the total number of cases against corporate and individual...more
In the first major action of 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it had entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with a publicly traded global software company for alleged violations of the...more
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
The call, email or tip comes into your office; an employee reports suspicious activity somewhere across the globe. That activity might well turn into a FCPA issue for your company. As the CCO, it will be up to you to begin...more
We continue our exploration of the SAP Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement action. Today we go full geek in a look at the fine and penalty and most importantly what the fine and penalty communicate about what the...more
This week we are taking a deep dive into the SAP Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement action. In it, SAP agreed to pay the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approximately...more
A careful reading of the DOJ and SEC settlement documents for the SAP case will puzzle you. I know I am scratching my head trying to make sense of the whole picture here. There are a number of significant indicators of a...more
When it comes to FCPA enforcement and expectations, DOJ has moved the goalposts. Some would argue that DOJ has been consistent all along. The truth, like most issues, lies somewhere between the extremes....more
Recent Department of Justice (“DOJ” or “Department”) activity on bribery in Mexico and Latin America sends a warning and provides a roadmap to companies doing business there. By following the roadmap, companies may escape...more
The Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement record for 2024 was slow. This trend was unexpected, contrary to my own predictions and of various other prognosticators. It is hard to explain why this slowdown occurred....more
Summary - The Department of Justice (DOJ) has created the International Corporate Anti-Bribery initiative (ICAB), which aims to strengthen the United States’ global efforts in combating corruption through enhanced...more
On November 28–30, 2023, the American Conference Institute’s 40th International Conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), held in Washington, D.C., brought together prosecutors, regulators, corporate...more
The Justice Department’s Corporate Enforcement Policies and Program applies to prosecutions outside of the FCPA context. The impact of DOJ’s new approach, encouraging voluntary disclosures, applies to other federal criminal...more
The Justice Department has brought three corporate FCPA enforcement actions in 2023 (if you include the Ericsson DPA breach settlement). With its recent announcement of a declination under the Corporate Enforcement Policy,...more
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
Six months from the date of closing. That’s how long acquiring companies have under the newly announced Department of Justice (DOJ) Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Safe Harbor Policy to disclose misconduct discovered in the...more
Last week, Albemarle Corporation (Albemarle), a publicly traded specialty chemicals manufacturing company headquartered in North Carolina, agreed to pay more than $218 million to resolve investigations by the U.S. Department...more
Albemarle Corporation (Albemarle), a specialty chemicals manufacturing company located in Charlotte, North Carolina, agreed to pay more than $218 million to settle FCPA investigations with DOJ and the SEC stemming from...more
Survey: Tech gaps, third parties pose biggest ABAC threats - Compliance professionals surveyed regarding their anti-bribery and corruption efforts (ABAC) indicated resource support deficiencies in areas including staffing...more
The Department of Justice has been relatively quiet this year in bringing corporate FCPA enforcement actions and settlements. Aside from the Ericsson breach of its Deferred Prosecution Agreement, the Corficocolombiana...more