This Week in FCPA-Episode 57, the Father’s Day Edition
Given the global nature of sovereign wealth funds’ (SWFs’) investments and operations, it is essential that SWFs are aware of and in compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in order to facilitate business...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
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 case developments from the past month,...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
La Ley de Prácticas Corruptas en el Extranjero (“Foreign Corrupt Practices Act – FCPA”) prohíbe el pago de sobornos a funcionarios extranjeros para ayudar a obtener o retener negocios. Exige que las empresas cuyos valores se...more
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) prohibits payment of bribes to foreign officials to assist with obtaining or retaining business. It requires companies whose securities are listed in the US to maintain books and...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
Settlement Applies to $700 Million in Luxury Assets; Law Firms Obtain a Carve-Out - Last week, the Justice Department announced a massive settlement in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (“1MDB”) case, a matter implicating...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
This week, as their tribute to their Dad, we are guest hosted by Jay’s daughters, Millie and Michela. They lead us through a wide-ranging discussion on some of the week’s top compliance related stories, including: 1. The...more
The Och-Ziff settlement has now set the stage for the Justice Department and the SEC to focus its enforcement eye on the private equity and hedge fund industry. The Och-Ziff action was initiated in response to the SEC’s...more
In one of the largest FCPA settlements in history, hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (“Och-Ziff”) recently resolved a long-running government inquiry by agreeing to $413 million in financial penalties and a...more
The Justice Department and the Securities Exchange Commission delivered a powerful FCPA enforcement message to private equity and hedge funds. Och-Ziff settled with the DOJ and SEC for total penalties of $412 million....more
Wyatt Earp died this week. Not the original Wyatt Earp who died in 1929 but the Wyatt Earp of my lifetime, who was actor Hugh O’Brian. O’Brien portrayed Earp in the long running television series Wyatt Earp which ran in the...more
It has been known for some time that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have been investigating investment banks over their dealings with the Libyan sovereign wealth fund, known as...more
May 4th is universally recognized (at least in the universe I inhabit) as Star Wars Day. According to Wikipedia, “May 4 is called Star Wars Day because of the popularity of a common pun spoken on this day. Since the phrase...more
A CD or not a CD, That is the Question… That the Auditors Should Have Answered - A headline-grabbing SEC enforcement action last week against BDO USA and several of its national partners may lead audit firms to insist on...more
The SEC is having a good year in the FCPA enforcement arena. As a former prosecutor, my eyes would sometimes glaze over when discussing civil enforcement actions. The SEC, however, has turned its FCPA enforcement program into...more
In yesterday’s post I reviewed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement action involving the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY Mellon) around its hiring of sons and...more
The SEC has been investigating sovereign wealth funds and issues relating to the hiring of friends and family of foreign officials for some time. Now it has filed a settled action centered on both of those issues which...more
Yesterday the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a resolution with Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY Mellon) for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). This was the first enforcement...more
FCPA enforcement efforts are not so hard to follow and predict – the government likes to provide advance warnings as an effective means of deterrence. Justice Department and SEC officials will often tell the public their...more
For years, we have all heard about the coming wave of FCPA enforcement against financial institutions, investment banks, private equity firms and others who interact with sovereign wealth funds overseas....more