Corruption, Crime & Compliance

Featured Articles:

1 Feb, 2024

SEC Settlement with BarnBridge DAO and its Founders for Securities Violations Highlights Legal Risks for DAOs and DeFi

Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, joins us for another post discussing how the SEC’s recent settlement with BarnBridge DAO may impact the cryptocurrency industry. Matt can be contacted at [email protected]. On December 23, 2023, BarnBridge DAO (“BarnBridge”) and its founders, Tayler Ward and Troy Murray, agreed to settle charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). BarnBridge violated Sections5(a) and 5(c) of...

General

30 Jan, 2024

NYDFS Sues Citigroup Over Lax Antifraud Defenses, Seeking Major Expansion in Antifraud Liability for Banking Institutions

The New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) has brought action in Federal court against Citibank, N.A., alleging that the bank systemically failed to protect accountholders from rampant online scam activity, leading to individual losses amounting to tens, or hundreds of thousands. In taking this step, NYDFS seeks formal recognition of depository institutions’ liability under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) to safeguard depositors from...

General

29 Jan, 2024

Top Five Risks Facing Corporate Boards

A Top 5 list should be viewed with suspicion — it is often just a headline grabbing posting with the clear purpose to gain readers’ attention. In defense, however, it is interesting to compare articles on risk rankings. To start with the obvious, corporate boards face growing risks — the economy, the regulatory environment, cybersecurity threats, technology developments and stakeholder interests are all colliding and...

Podcasts

28 Jan, 2024

Episode 306 — 2023 FCPA Year in Review

FCPA trends often are relatively easy to describe and often overblown as a marketing technique by the usual cast of paparazzi suspects. (Self-proclaimed prognosticators that often push incorrect themes to promote business, or those that restate profound grasps of the obvious). 2023 has been a strange year in a number of respects — socially, politically and even in the small universe of DOJ enforcement and...

General

26 Jan, 2024

BIS Announces Further Enhancements to Voluntary Self-Disclosure Process

By: Alexander Cotoia (Regulatory Compliance Manager) and Daniela Melendez (Associate) of The Volkov Law Group On January 16, 2024, the U.S Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) released a series of enhancements to its existing voluntary self disclosure (“VSD”) program, pursuant to which organizations culpable of only technical violations of the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) are entitled to access a proverbial “fast...

General

25 Jan, 2024

A Practical Guide to Compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”)

Alexander Cotoia is currently Regulatory Compliance Manager at The Volkov Law Group, where he routinely advises the firm and its clients on domestic and international developments implicating the regulation of global supply chains. He may be reached at [email protected]. On December 31, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. signed the the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”) into law to address the ongoing exploitation of the...

General

23 Jan, 2024

“Person” of the Year: Technology and the Challenges for Ethics and Compliance

I always enjoy retrospective “year in review” postings to start off the new year. For years, I have sought to identify and capture important compliance trends, typically focused on specific professionals in the compliance arena. This year, however, is a little different. Compliance is at an important inflection point. Corporate business headlines have been dominated by technology issues. I am not convinced that these headlines...

General

22 Jan, 2024

2023 Sanctions Year in Review and Predictions

As always, I tend to repeat myself. However, one important point needs to be repeated — DOJ is in the midst of launching an aggressive sanctions and export control program against corporations and individuals. DOJ has warned everyone, repeated this message in various speeches and, most importantly, assigned the resources — 25 new federal prosecutors to enforce sanctions and export controls — to back up...

Events

22 Jan, 2024

Webinar — 2024 Ethics and Compliance Program Priorities and Trends

Webinar: 2024 Ethics and Compliance Priorities and Trends February 6, 2024 12 Noon EST SIGN UP HERE Companies face a fast-changing enforcement and compliance environment. In the midst of this rapidly-evolving environment, companies have to prioritize compliance elements and mitigation strategies. The Justice Department with its regulatory partners are continuing to focus on anti-corruption, sanctions, export controls, antitrust, money laundering, cyber-security and fraud. At the same...

Podcasts

22 Jan, 2024

Episode 305 — Deep Dive into the SAP FCPA Settlement

SAP agreed to a three-year deferred prosecution agreement, in exchange for the payment of approximately $220 million in penalties for bribe payments made to South African and Indonesia government officials. DOJ’s resolution includes a criminal penalty of $118.8 million and forfeiture of $103.4 million, along with a credit of $55.1 million against amounts paid by SAP to South African law enforcement authorities, and the full...