One very accurate indicator of a compliance program is the relationship between the CEO and the Chief Compliance Officer. If a CCO is repeatedly making excuses for a CEO who does not devote enough time to compliance, you can rest assured that the compliance program is nowhere near effective. Let’s start with the basics. Almost 60 percent of CCOs now report directly to the CEO....

Humans by nature seek to avoid uncomfortable feelings, events and situations. When a company suffers misconduct, the same principle holds true. Corporate actors, defense lawyers and board members will always minimize the bad actors and the harm they caused. In response to a bribery scheme confined to a country, the company will immediately seek refuge in the myth of the rogue employee. By definition, the...

Last week, the SEC announced another FCPA settlement involving the pharmaceutical industry for bribery in China. The SEC’s settlement filing represents yet another example of the pharmaceutical industry run amok in China, relying on targeted gifts, meals, entertainment and travel expenditures designed to increase sales of Novartis products in China. Novartis had to cough up $25 million. The Novartis enforcement action, however, provides an important...

As the compliance profession grows, so to the need for valuable writing and scholarship, particularly from authors who themselves have specific compliance experience and offer practical solutions. Kristy Grant-Hart recently released a terrific contribution to the field – How to Be a Wildly Effective Compliance Officer. As an extra benefit, Joseph E. Murphy, a long-time leader in the compliance field, wrote the foreword to the...

I am pleased to announce the release by Corporate Compliance Insights of my new e-book: A Return to Common Sense: The Justice Department’s Latest Attempts to Deter Corporate Crime.  You can download the book here. With the release of the Yates Memorandum, and the readjustment of FCPA prosecution priorities and strategies, the Department of Justice is in the throes of a significant policy change in...

There are many important predictors of corporate culture. Everyone laments the difficult in measuring a company’s culture. There are a few issues, however, that may be inconvertible as a predictor of a corporate culture. How does a company react to a whistleblower? I am sure everyone is saying to themselves – well, we do not have that problem,  we are committed to fair treatment of...

We have all been reading (over and over) about the Yates Memorandum and the renewed focus on individual culpability. As I have said (over and over), the proof will be in the results – if we see an increased number of criminal cases against individuals. Whether this new aggressive approach will extend to senior executives and even corporate board members will be a matter of...

Sometimes risk analysis can result in paralysis. Finding your risk tolerance and applying it to specific situations requires a nuanced approach. I am always wary of anyone who tells me categorical rules – e.g. we do not do business in Russia because it is too risky. In this era of oversimplification, such statements border on intellectual dishonesty. A careful approach to risk analysis always involves...

All generalizations are false, including this one — Mark Twain Proving intent is a difficult task. White collar crimes turn on the issue of intent – what was in the offender’s mind. With most things in life, people have mixed motivations. On occasion, however, it is very clear to understand an actor’s intent. Prosecutors cull through evidence looking for indications, signs of motivation, and ultimately...

Volkov Law TV offers a subscription-based  webinar service that allows you to watch over 50 recorded webinars on a variety of compliance and enforcement topics, including FCPA, Antitrust, False Claims Act, Sanctions, Risk Assessments, Internal investigations, Interviewing Techniques and a host of other important subjects. As an example, I recently conducted a webinar, Compliance Pointers from Recent FCPA Enforcement Actions. If you want to watch...