The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division maintains a robust criminal enforcement program fueled by the steady stream of leniency applicants.  Since the 1990s, the Antitrust Division has trumpeted a successful leniency program that has been followed by many other foreign enforcement agencies.  There is no question that the Antitrust Division’s leniency program has led to major prosecution and settlement successes. The Antitrust Division has used this...

There are two distinct themes in FCPA enforcement – the first is consistency, i.e., that some enforcement actions are relatively consistent across the board and, in the last five to ten years, the FCPA caseload has been fairly steady; the second is variability, meaning that new policies have an impact on FCPA enforcement.  Some minor and some major.  All of this may be another in...

After a lengthy investigation conducted by the SEC, Beam Suntory agreed to pay $8 million to settle FCPA violations in India.  (Copy of SEC order Here).  Beam’s settlement took over 5 years from initial disclosure to resolution – a long-time to say the least.  Interestingly, there has been no resolution or mention of a parallel DOJ investigation. Beam’s conduct follows similar conduct by other liquor companies...

The Volkov Law Group is pleased to announce the addition of Stephen Cheng and Marcel de Chermont to the firm.  Both bring a wealth of compliance experience to the firm and promise to assist us in continuing to offer our clients the high-quality ethics and compliance, and enforcement defense services that we offer.  We look forward to introducing them to new and existing clients. Stephen...

Credit Suisse has joined the ranks of other banks and companies that have settled FCPA violations involving hiring of government officials’ relatives in exchange for business benefits, including JPMorgan Chase; BNY Mellon, and Qualcomm.  There are several banks still under investigation for such practices, including Citigroup, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Goldman Sachs. The hiring program enforcement actions demonstrate the Justice Department’s and SEC’s broad...

Credit Suisse Group AG and its Hong Kong subsidiary settled FCPA charges with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The Justice Department announced that Credit Suisse’s Hong Kong subsidiary agreed to pay $47 million in exchange for a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) for FCPA violations involving hiring of friends and families of Chinese officials to win investment banking business (here).  The SEC announced...

The cryptocurrency market is exciting to watch.  Based on the revolutionary blockchain distributed ledger system, cryptocurrencies have exploded on the marketplace.  As with any new “gold rush” to hit a market, cryptocurrency has attracted scammers and common fraudsters, as well as sophisticated hackers who attack the cryptocurrency markets to steal valuable coins or other tokens. For the law-abiding investors and exchange operators, the CFTC, SEC...

On behalf of the Volkov Law Group and Corruption, Crime & Compliance, I want to wish everyone, friends and families a wonderful 4th of July holiday!! Today we recognize the wisdom and forethought of our Founders!

Matt Stankiewicz, Senior Associate at The Volkov Law Group, rejoins us for another posting on cryptocurrency compliance.  Matt can be reached at [email protected]. For those still new to the sector, Coinbase has established itself as one of (if not the) most prominent cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the U.S. Coinbase, to the delight of compliance officers everywhere, has been mostly diligent in attempting to comply with...

I am excited to announce the addition of Karin Sweigart as a new Senior Associate at The Volkov Law Group. When I launched the firm, I was committed to providing high-quality ethics and compliance, and enforcement defense services. With the help of my existing members we have been fortunate to grow and develop our services and capabilities.  I am proud to announce that Karin Sweigart...