In an interesting political twist, the difference in approaches to antitrust enforcement between Democrat and Republican Administrations has been narrowing.  It used to be that the difference in party control of the Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission would have a significant impact on enforcement priorities.  That gap is definitely changing and reflects growing agreement in the public in preventing anti-competitive conduct. Much of...

Happy Thanksgiving to our clients, friends, colleagues, and family!! We hope you have a wonderful and restful holiday. With peace and gratitude, The Volkov Law Group PC

“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” — Warren Buffett You often hear chief compliance officers speak about benchmarking.  CCOs often reveal their competitive streaks when they collect information about  other companies’ compliance programs.  It can easily come off as a little insecure.  In fact, CCOs are seeking valuable information — trying to measure their company’s performance outside their...

The Justice Department’s record of FCPA enforcement in 2024 has been disappointing.  With all of the hoopla and pronouncements surrounding the global war against corruption, DOJ suggested that enforcement in 2023 and 2024 would be robust.  Instead, 2024 was a year of fizzles, fits and starts, and ultimately a slow year of FCPA enforcement. The future under the Trump Administration will be interesting.  Based on...

We should all admit something (among many things) — reading through factual statements of bribery offenses, the facts all start to meld together.  Criminals are not as ingenuous or creative as they think, and the schemes they employ are fairly straightforward. Let’s start with one profound grasp of the obvious  — To pay bribes, criminals have to “steal” money from the company, that is, they...

Telefónica Venezolana C.A. (“Telefónica Venezolana”), the Venezuela-based subsidiary of Telefónica S.A. (Telefónica), the Spanish telecommunications company entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) and agreed to pay over $85.2 million to resolve DOJ FCPA charges stemming from bribery payments to Venezuelan government officials to secure preferential access to U.S. dollars in a currency auction. Telefónica Venezolana entered into a three-year DPA and the filing of a...

The Justice Department is about to undergo some fundamental changes.  The 2nd Trump Administration will take some initial broad strokes designed to increase accountability and control of prosecutors and laws enforcement.  The FBI The first on the chopping block is the FBI.  Under existing law, the FBI is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice, presumably under the control and oversight of the Attorney...

As the dust settles on the U.S. Election, companies are quickly analyzing the impact for businesses, federal civil and criminal enforcement priorities and the implications for ethics and compliance. When a new Administration comes into power, change is inevitable and can be far-reaching.  Given the change with President Trump’s return to the White House, and in light of several of his stated intentions, companies should...