Michael Volkov Quoted by ABC News: Michael Avenatti casts himself as anti-Trump avenger, May 16, 2018 HERE The inspector general of the Treasury Department is now investigating possible leaks of Suspicious Activity Reports, or SARs, from Cohen’s financial institutions. “Suspicious activity reports are confidential. They’re not allowed to be leaked,” said Michael Volkov, a white-collar defense lawyer who spent seventeen years as a federal prosecutor...
Corporate commitment to speak up cultures is suffering. The Ethics and Compliance Initiative’s recent Global National Business Ethics Survey (available HERE) contained a critical finding – corporate instances of retaliation against employee for raising concerns doubled in the last five years. In the 2013 survey, 22 percent of respondents reported instances of retaliation against employees. This number increased to an astounding 44 percent of respondents...
As parents we all have been through the following scenario – we encourage our children to communicate and voice their concerns and to learn to articulate, reason and understand perspectives. So, our kids start to speak up and we listen, patiently, but at some point, our patience wears thin, and we are not as interested or willing to listen. Our children begin to question our...
We all know the saying – A fish rots from the head. Sometimes a clear and simple statement says it all. The Volkswagen diesel emissions cheating scandal is yet another example of C-Suite, even CEO, misconduct. The Justice Department recently announced the criminal indictment for former Volkswagen CEO, Martin Winterkorn, age 70, for conspiracy and wire fraud for Volkswagen’s scheme to defeat U.S. diesel vehicle...
The Trump Administration Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control activity has been interesting to watch. On the one hand, OFAC has been implementing aggressive sanctions against Russia in reaction to Russia’s global misconduct. On the other hand, OFAC has brought — no, none, zip — enforcement actions this year. That is unprecedented and inexplicable. I doubt that all staff has been dedicated to drafting...
History does not repeat itself but it often rhymes — Mark Twain (although there is disagreement if Twain uttered these exact words (see here)). Just as businesses were growing or planning to grow into Iran, they had the proverbial rug pulled out from under them. Last week, on May 8, 2018, the administration announced its intention to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action...
Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation of possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russia has been dominating the country’s attention. in recent weeks, the US Attorney’s separate investigation of Michael Cohen’s activities has been gaining attention as well. These two significant investigations are moving at a rapid pace with new developments each day. Michael Volkov discusses these investigations and provides his insights as a former prosecutor...
After a lengthy investigation, Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) settled an FCPA enforcement action with the Securities and Exchange Commission for $9 million. (Here). At the same time, the Justice Department issued a declination letter, representing the first written declination under its new Corporate FCPA Enforcement Policy. (Here). D&B’s FCPA violations in China represent the perfect trifecta of risks and violations facing companies in China. The...
The Panasonic Avionics (PAC) FCPA enforcement settlement for $280 million with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission contains a number of important lessons learned. The overall scope and breadth of PAC’s misconduct was significant and reflects the absence of a meaningful compliance program and commitment to a culture of ethics. Here are the important lessons learned: C-Suite Misconduct: PAC is yet another...
May is going to be a rough month for compliance officers — on May 11, 2018, FinCEN’s new Customer Due Diligence(“CDD”) Rule for beneficial ownership becomes effective. The CDD rule will have a significant impact on the collection of information from customers and AML enforcement. See here for FinCEN guidance. Many have welcomed these rules as a step in the right direction in combating a significant problem – the ease...
