I always enjoy pulling out the crystal ball and looking forward with due consideration of last year’s trends. It is a perspective that gives us all the opportunity to identify important trends and to set an agenda for the next year – 2023. The compliance profession continues to grow in overall importance in the corporate governance landscape. Corporate leaders that fail to appreciate this face...
I admit I may be a little late in completing some of my 2022 retrospective postings. Nevertheless, I have to announce Corruption, Crime & Compliance’s Person of the Year Award. Although my posting is not done with as much fanfare as Hollywood award shows or other major business announcements, it is always important o take time to reflect back on a year and focus gratitude...
DOJ closed out its FCPA enforcement year in 2022 with two significant settlements, the ABB and Honeywell cases. Aside from these two big settlements, there was a flurry of other actions in the last quarter of 2022. Ericsson Monitorship Extension Ericsson Telecomm agreed to a one-year extension of its corporate monitorship that was imposed as part of its $1 billion FCPA settlement with the Justice...
The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission bounced back in 2022 to restore their records for aggressive FCPA enforcement. At the same time, DOJ announced significant new compliance program expectations, and appeared ready to press forward with a number of FCPA resolutions. The Numbers For the year, DOJ totaled five corporate resolutions, two separate declinations under its Corporate Enforcement Policy, and approximately 24...
Danske Bank, the largest bank in Denmark, agreed to plead guilty to fraud and paid $2 billion to settle long-standing anti-money laundering and fraud violations stemming from its banking operations in Estonia. Danske Bank plead guilty to one count of bank fraud conspiracy. The notorious Danske Bank case in Estonia has been the subject of regulators in Denmark, the European Union and non-governmental watchdogs because...
The Honeywell FCPA settlement underscored a number of important issues – lessons learned for compliance professionals. Every FCPA case carries important lessons learned, but some more than others. The Honeywell case with its focus on the large project in Brazil, and the contractual dispute in Algeria both provide important pointers relating to third party risk management. In addition to the third party issues, however, Honeywell...
The facts surrounding Honeywell’s bribery schemes in Brazil and Algeria are fairly straightforward. In Brazil, the facts underscore the significant risks of bribery when companies participate in large, valuable project competitions. Global companies face significant risks when competing and seek every advantage to win a project competition. Brazil In 2008 and 2009, Petrobras developed the Premium Refinery project to design and construct two grassroots refineries...
The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission had a strong FCPA enforcement year. However, there is certainly more to come and it is easy to predict that 2023 will be even a bigger year. It is fairly obvious that DOJ and the SEC have cases in the pipeline and with new policies in place, they are getting ready to move them through the...
Jessica Sanderson, a Partner at The Volkov Law Group, rejoins us for an important posting on the importance of compliance with defense trade controls. Jessica can be reached at [email protected]. On December 5, 2022, the Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”) issued new Compliance Program Guidelines, “intended to provide an overview of an effective compliance program and an introduction to defense trade...
From all of us at the Volkov Law Group, we wanted to wish our clients, families, friends, and colleagues a wonderful holiday season and a terrific New Year!! We are so grateful for opportunities to work together, collaborate, and learn from each other. We hope that everyone is able to enjoy some time with their families, loved ones and friends during the holidays. We will...
