Despite our political dialogue and the often-heard charges of fake news and lying, telling the truth still matters in a variety of contexts.  For example, Special Counsel Mueller has made various characters in the Russia investigation plead guilty to the crime of making false statements. The US Department of Commerce recently announced that Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation of Shenzen China and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd....

Joint ventures pose a unique constellation of anti-corruption risks.  Like third-party risks, companies that enter into joint ventures face significant anti-corruption risks, especially in those situations where a state-owned entity is the joint venture partner. By definition, companies do not have the same authority over third parties and joint venture partners as they can when it comes to their own employees. A company faces two...

Third-party risk dominates the anti-corruption compliance landscape.  And for good reason – companies do not exercise significant control over their third parties, at least in comparison to company employees.  I know this is obvious but from a theoretical standpoint a company has greater legal authority over the conduct of its employees in contrast to its third parties. Relying on third parties is a two-edge sword. ...

The laundry list of companies that have been prosecuted for FCPA violations surrounding gifts, meals, entertainment and travel expenditures is lengthy. Consider just two examples: In SEC v. Diageo (2011) (copy Here), Diageo agreed to a $16 million settlement for a variety of illegal bribe payments and GMET expenses, including $64,184 spent on rice cakes and other gifts for the South Korean military over a four-year...

Compliance officers are trained to spot risks.  They have an eagle eye and keen sensitivity.  In some cases they have to overcome inaccurate designations – my favorite is a “PEP,” a politically exposed person.  I sometimes hear the compliance equivalent of an “Oh, no, we can’t do business with him or her – he or she is a PEP.”  Of course, we all know that...

Any fool can know.  The point is to understand. – Albert Einstein Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe. – Albert Einstein This week I am posting a five-part series on FCPA compliance issues.  While there have been many advances in the anti-corruption ethics and compliance field, there is still more work to do to advance...

Global banks have been the focus of enforcement actions, focusing on AML and sanctions violations.  With the new beneficial ownership regulations effective May 11, 2018, we are about to see a significant transformation in AML compliance and enforcement. I have scheduled a free webinar, The New Era of AML Compliance: The Need to Refresh Your AML Compliance Program, May 15, 2018, at 12 Noon EST. ...

The chief compliances officer is the guardian of a company’s most important intangible asset – its culture.  Everyone at a company is responsible for a company’s culture; the board of directors, CEO, senior executives play an important leadership role and have to exercise responsibility for preserving and promoting a company’s culture. CCOs, however, are responsible for a company’s ethics and compliance program.  I have regularly...

Financial institutions face an important deadline – May 11, 2018 is the effective date for the new customer due diligence regulations governing beneficial ownership requirements.  FinCEN provided financial institutions nearly two years to prepare for the implementation date. FinCEN issued comprehensive guidance on the new regulations and has sought to clarify as many issues as possible.  (See HERE for Copy).  There is no question that...

With all the recent hoopla and commentary on the Michael Cohen criminal investigation and the execution of search warrants against Cohen, it is important to focus on what is true, what is exaggerated and what is outright false. My related podcast on the Cohen Criminal Investigation and Search Warrants is Here. First, it is not unusual to execute a search warrant at an attorney’s office...