Category: General

26 Jan, 2024

BIS Announces Further Enhancements to Voluntary Self-Disclosure Process

By: Alexander Cotoia (Regulatory Compliance Manager) and Daniela Melendez (Associate) of The Volkov Law Group On January 16, 2024, the U.S Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) released a series of enhancements to its existing voluntary self disclosure (“VSD”) program, pursuant to which organizations culpable of only technical violations of the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) are entitled to access a proverbial “fast...

General

25 Jan, 2024

A Practical Guide to Compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”)

Alexander Cotoia is currently Regulatory Compliance Manager at The Volkov Law Group, where he routinely advises the firm and its clients on domestic and international developments implicating the regulation of global supply chains. He may be reached at [email protected]. On December 31, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. signed the the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”) into law to address the ongoing exploitation of the...

General

23 Jan, 2024

“Person” of the Year: Technology and the Challenges for Ethics and Compliance

I always enjoy retrospective “year in review” postings to start off the new year. For years, I have sought to identify and capture important compliance trends, typically focused on specific professionals in the compliance arena. This year, however, is a little different. Compliance is at an important inflection point. Corporate business headlines have been dominated by technology issues. I am not convinced that these headlines...

General

22 Jan, 2024

2023 Sanctions Year in Review and Predictions

As always, I tend to repeat myself. However, one important point needs to be repeated — DOJ is in the midst of launching an aggressive sanctions and export control program against corporations and individuals. DOJ has warned everyone, repeated this message in various speeches and, most importantly, assigned the resources — 25 new federal prosecutors to enforce sanctions and export controls — to back up...

General

18 Jan, 2024

A Recap of Significant Export Control Enforcement Efforts from 2023

Alexander J. Cotoia currently serves as the Regulatory Compliance Manager at The Volkov Law Group, where he regularly advises the firm and its clients on the latest developments implicating trade compliance concerns. He may be reached at [email protected]; As global political tensions continued to escalate on multiple fronts, the 2023 calendar year saw a noticeable increase in the number of enforcement actions initiated by the U.S....

General

17 Jan, 2024

Lessons Learned from the SAP Enforcement Action — DOJ Changes Tack on FCPA Enforcement While SEC Digs into Third-Party Controls (Part III of III)

A careful reading of the DOJ and SEC settlement documents for the SAP case will puzzle you. I know I am scratching my head trying to make sense of the whole picture here. There are a number of significant indicators of a change in DOJ’s tack, along with SEC’s aggressive push on third-party controls. DOJ’s position is even more difficult to understand as explained below....

General

16 Jan, 2024

SAP’s Bribery Schemes — Systemic Corruption Around the Globe (Part II of III)

When it comes to FCPA enforcement and expectations, DOJ has moved the goalposts. Some would argue that DOJ has been consistent all along. The truth, like most issues, lies somewhere between the extremes. With lots of fanfare, DOJ implemented a new Corporate Enforcement Program to udnerscore its intent to examine the criminal and civil enforcement history of corporate defendants when considering an appropriate penalty. This...

General

16 Jan, 2024

SAP Returns to U.S. Enforcement Scene: Pays DOJ and SEC Over $220 Million to Resolve FCPA Violations (Part I of III)

Life is always filled with surprises. Just when we thought 2023 was a “slow” FCPA enforcement year, DOJ and SEC announced a large enforcement action against SAP for approximately $220 million for FCPA violations in South Africa, and Indonesia. The SEC’s enforcement action for $98 million includes SAP FCPA violations in Greater Africa and Azerbaijan. SAP is no stranger to U.S, enforcement agencies. In 2021,...

General

12 Jan, 2024

Freepoint FCPA Settlement: Incendiary Mix of Commodities Trading and Third-Party Risks (Part II of II)

Perhaps it is fitting to end this unusual FCPA enforcement year with another in a series of compliance reminders — the quickest way to experience a bribery scandal is to ignore third-party risks. This has been a continuing theme this year and Freepoint is yet another example of why managing third-party risks is so important to any anti-bribery compliance program. The relevant facts underlying the...

General

12 Jan, 2024

DOJ and CFTC Close Out Slow FCPA Enforcement Year with $98 Million Resolution with Freepoint Commodities LLC (Part I of II)

The Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement record for 2024 was slow. This trend was unexpected, contrary to my own predictions and of various other prognosticators. It is hard to explain why this slowdown occurred. DOJ’s record is hard to square against DOJ official speeches, statements and policy changes, which all were premised on an expectation of increased enforcement over prior years. In its last FCPA enforcement...