Category: General

15 Jul, 2019

DOJ’s Antitrust Division Announces New Policy for Crediting Corporate Compliance Programs (Part I of II)

In yet another major compliance development, the Justice Department announced the adoption of a new policy to credit effective compliance programs in resolving criminal cartel prosecutions against corporations. Since the 1990s, the Antitrust Division’s policy regarding corporate compliance programs was generally fixed given the ability of companies to seek benefits under the leniency program. In this respect, the first reporting company would earn immunity and...

General

11 Jul, 2019

The Critical Dataset: HR, Hotlines and Incident Management

It is easy to get swept up into compliance trends, prognosticators of the future, and future compliance terms such as “artificial intelligence,” or “blockchain.” Do not get me wrong, these are the terms for the future and eventually they will be part of common compliance conversations. But sometimes we need to get back to basics. In some cases, Chief Compliance Officers need to remind themselves...

General

10 Jul, 2019

Catching Up with OFAC Sanctions Enforcement Actions

OFAC is clearly sending a message about sanctions enforcement and compliance responsibilities. OFAC is aggressively seeking out new targets for enforcement. OFAC continues to focus on Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea, aligning itself with current foreign policy objectives. Here is a brief outline of three recent enforcement actions: Western Union (HERE) — On June 7, 2019, OFAC released a settlement with Western Union under...

General

9 Jul, 2019

NAVEX Global’s 2019 Definitive Corporate Compliance Benchmarking Report

NAVEX Global recently released an important compliance report – 2019 Definitive Corporate Compliance Benchmarking Report (HERE). NAVEX’s report contains a number of interesting findings and brings together several current compliance trends and themes. In contrast to focused benchmarking reports, NAVEX’s new report provides a more holistic view of compliance programs. NAVEX’s new approach reflects the trend of consolidating compliance functions and responsibilities. As this trend...

General

8 Jul, 2019

An Introduction to Libra – Facebook’s Foray into Cryptocurrency and its Regulatory Hurdles

Matt Stankiewicz, Senior Associate at the Volkov Law Group, rejoins us for an interesting posting on Facebook’s cryptocurrency plans. Matt can be reached at [email protected]. It was inevitable. With the continuing growth of the cryptocurrency industry, major corporations were surely going to begin to figure out how best to profit from it. Facebook has entered the game in a massive way with the announcement of...

General / Podcasts

4 Jul, 2019

Episode 97 — Matt Stankiewicz Discusses Blockchain Domains and Trademarks with Brad Kam, Co-Founder of Unstoppable Domains

As the blockchain industry continues to grow, we’ll begin to see traditional industries shifting to the blockchain to leverage the technology. Unstoppable domains is a company working to place web domains on the blockchain. Instead of traditional extensions like .com, .net, or .io. Unstoppable Domains will utilize .zil addresses as smart contracts on the Zilliqa public blockchain. This will first provide simple, human-readable crypto wallet...

General

2 Jul, 2019

A Classic Criminal Investigation: Unraveling PDVSA Corruption

The Justice Department has been criticized on numerous occasions about its approach to criminal investigations and prosecutions. In a recent decision, the chief judge in the Eastern District of New York criticized DOJ for “outsourcing” criminal investigations to outside counsel who conduct internal investigations under DOJ review. I have long predicted that courts would eventually impose criminal procedural protections in the context of criminal internal...

General

1 Jul, 2019

TechnipFMC Settles FCPA Violations for $296 Million

Last week, on June 25, 2019, TechnipFMC agreed to settle FCPA violations with the Justice Department for $296 million that occurred in Iraq and Brazil. TechnipFMC was created in 2017 through the merger of Technip, a French company, and FMC Technologies, a Houston-based company. The SEC’s investigation is still pending. The combined FCPA settlement was the result of separate FCPA violations by each of the...

General

27 Jun, 2019

Applying OFAC’s Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines to Determine A Civil Monetary Penalty (Part II of II)

In yesterday’s posting, I examined the General Factors identified by OFAC to determine whether to initiate a civil penalty proceeding and the amount of any civil monetary penalty. After analyzing these factors, OFAC determines the base penalty using a formula that depends on whether (a) the company voluntarily disclosed the matter; and (b) whether the violations are “egregious” or “non-egregious.” 1. Egregious case. OFAC determines whether...

General

26 Jun, 2019

Understanding the OFAC Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines (Part I of II)

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control is an enforcement agency – it is not a regulatory agency. That sounds like a lot of bureaucratic speak but it does have some real significance. OFAC staff view themselves and act like an enforcement agency. Yes, they regulate in the sense that they authorize general and specific licenses and provide guidance. OFAC guidance is sometimes provided...