Author: Michael Volkov

General

12 Jan, 2024

DOJ and CFTC Close Out Slow FCPA Enforcement Year with $98 Million Resolution with Freepoint Commodities LLC (Part I of II)

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. DOJ’s record is hard to square against DOJ official speeches, statements and policy changes, which all were premised on an expectation of increased enforcement over prior years.  In its last FCPA enforcement...

General

10 Jan, 2024

Top Compliance Reminders from 2023 FCPA Enforcement

While 2023 was a relatively slow year in FCPA enforcement, the DOJ and SEC settlements announced throughout the year set out a list of important ethics and compliance reminders. While these may seem obvious to everyone, I hope they stimulate further reflection and analysis to inform FCPA compliance practitioners as they prepare for the next year. Third-Party Risk Management:  DOJ and the SEC FCPA enforcement...

General

10 Jan, 2024

2023 FCPA Year in Review — Questioning the Tea Leaves and Trends

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...

Podcasts

8 Jan, 2024

Episode 303 — Deep Dive into HHS-OIG Compliance Guidance

In November 2023, HHS-OIG issued a comprehensive document, the General Compliance Program Guidance (“GCPG”), which outlines important compliance guidance for the healthcare industry. The GCPG provides specific guidance on compliance with the Federal anti-kickback statute (“AKS”), the Physician Self-Referral Law (“Stark Law”), the False Claims Act, HIPAA Privacy and Security, Exclusion Authorities, and Criminal Healthcare Fraud. Aside from this important compendium of statutory and regulatory...

General

3 Jan, 2024

HHS-OIG Guidance — Practical Steps to Achieve Effective Compliance (Part III of III)

Within the specific element discussions in HHS-OIG’s Guidance, are important operational details and strategies for an effective compliance program.  GCPG provides important suggestions and innovations for consideration by all compliance professionals. Effective Lines of Communication The GCPG stresses the importance of an open line of communication between the compliance officer and entity personnel as a means to reduce potential fraud, waste and abuse.  To this...

General

23 Dec, 2023

Happy Holidays And Happy New Year!!

To all our clients, family, friends and colleagues, The Volkov Law Group wishes everyone Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! Our blog, webinar and podcast services will resume on January 3, 2024. In the meantime, we wish everyone peace, gratitude. joy and love!! Mike, Matt, Alex, Sam, Daniela and Ben!!

General

22 Dec, 2023

HHS-OIG Guidance — Chock Full of Compliance Best Practices and Strategies (Part II of III)

Board Oversight of the Compliance Program The GCPG cross-references the US Sentencing Guidelines board responsibility requirements of the organization’s compliance program, and provides that the board shall “be knowledgeable about the contents and operation of the compliance and ethics programs and shall exercise reasonable oversight” of the program. The board has to specifically oversee the compliance officer and the compliance committee, and “review[] information necessary...

General

20 Dec, 2023

HHS-OIG Issues Comprehensive Compliance Guidance that Underscores the Need for a Robust and Independent Compliance Function (Part I of III)

The health care industry has a rich history of commitment and innovation in developing effective compliance  programs.  Going back to the 1990s, HHS elevated compliance program requirements for healthcare companies. Many of these innovations translated into strategies that became essential to the compliance industry. For example, in the 1990s, HHS’ Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”) affirmatively pushed for separation of the legal and compliance functions, resulting in...

General

19 Dec, 2023

OFAC Reaches Settlement with Cryptocurrency Company CoinList for Violations of Ukraine/Russia Sanctions

Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, provides an update on the latest OFAC action against CoinList. Matt can be reached at [email protected]. On December 13, 2023, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced an enforcement action against CoinList Markets LLC (“CoinList”) for violations of the Ukraine-/Russia-Related sanctions.  Between April 2020 and May 2022, CoinList processed 989 transactions on behalf...

Podcasts

17 Dec, 2023

Episode 302 — Matt Stankiewicz on DOJ’s Massive Criminal Settlement with Cryptocurrency Exchange Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao

On November 21, 2023, The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced settlement agreements with Binance Holdings Limited (“Binance”), the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and Changpeng Zhao (affectionally known as “CZ” in the cryptocurrency industry), the exchange’s founder and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”).  Under these agreements, Binance and CZ each agreed to plead guilty to a variety of offenses in order to resolve the ongoing investigations. ...

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