Category: General

2 Sep, 2021

Joseph R. Biden, Jr. —The Anti-Corruption President?

Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Manager at The Volkov Law Group, rejoins us for a posting on the Biden Administration’s Memorandum designating the fight against corruption as a national security interest. Alex can be reached at [email protected]. Scores of articles and volumes of commentary have been issued since President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. issued a presidential memorandum (hereinafter, “Memorandum”) making global anticorruption efforts an urgent national security...

General

1 Sep, 2021

White Collar Enforcement: Here We Go Again

The Justice Department suffered a terrible blow to its reputation during the financial crash in 2008 to 2009 for failing to criminally prosecute those individuals responsible for the financial misconduct. It was one of the most devastating failures in DOJ history and stands as a stain against DOJ’s accomplishments in prosecuting white collar crime. The failure to prosecute stemmed from both a lack of will...

General

30 Aug, 2021

A Kinship with Sisyphus: Challenging an OFAC SDN Designation

There are lots of life lessons to apply from Greek Mythology. The classic character Sisyphus, who was punished by Zeus for his trickery and condemned for eternity to push a large boulder up a hill, reminds us of the consequences of punishment and the frustration from repetitive failure. How does this apply to trade sanctions compliance? Bear with me here as I make the leap...

General

29 Aug, 2021

The Critical Relationship — Compliance and Business

Compliance officers and business managers need each other, whether they like it or not. The CCO has to enlist the business to own and take responsibility for compliance. Compliance cannot ensure compliance throughout an organization. If the business takes ownership of compliance, the organization has a chance to achieve an effective ethics and compliance program. If the business avoids such responsibility, the company might as...

General

26 Aug, 2021

Insights from Recent NAVEX Global and KPMG Surveys

Chief compliance officers are always hungry for benchmarking data, for comparisons and insights around how their respective compliance programs stack up against other companies, especially in the same industry. Compliance professionals, as a general rule, are collaborative and willing to share information with each other. CCOs are an optimistic lot and enjoy sharing best practices, ideas and insights in order to further the ethics and...

General

25 Aug, 2021

The Challenge of Technology and Data

Ethics and compliance programs face a rapidly approaching crossroads. Technology and data have created significant pressure on CCOs to harness innovation. This is a major opportunity for improvement but it also creates real risks. Chief compliance officers have to carefully tailor the transition to automated platforms and building of data management capabilities. The key to this effort is focus and simplicity. When CCOs overthink, they...

General

24 Aug, 2021

Pipeline Company Pays $35 Million to Settle Criminal and Civil Environmental Violations for Inland Spill of Oil Drilling Generated Water

In a significant environmental crime enforcement action, the Justice Department resolved criminal charges under the Clean Water Act against Summit Midstream Partners LLC, a North Dakota pipeline company that discharged 29 million gallons of water of produced water from its pipeline near Williston, North Dakota. In addition to the criminal resolution, the United States and the States of North Dakota resolved civil charges against Summit...

General

24 Aug, 2021

The Dangers of a Fractured C-Suite

All for one and one for all – The Three Musketeers motto – Alexander Dumas We all know the importance of teamwork and collaboration. Whatever the context, sports, business, military, and many other situations, teamwork and cooperation is essential to success. Our political system, however, is not a model for cooperation or bipartisanship. In the face of these tensions, it becomes harder to maintain a...

General

23 Aug, 2021

5 Common Internal Investigation Pitfalls

An internal investigation is like reading a good novel. You begin the journey with a general expectation of what the novel or the “investigation” is about. As every reader knows, the exhilaration is the result of following an unexpected path filled with moments of discovery, surprise and ultimately a basis for understanding. Internal investigations can follow a similar path. In some cases, the end of...

General

19 Aug, 2021

SEC Approves Nasdaq Board Diversity Proposal

The growing demand for increased diversity on corporate boards passed another hurdle. The SEC approved to Nasdaq’s proposed rule changes to mandate increased board diversity requirements. Three SEC Commissioners, including Chairman Gensler, approved the measure, and one Republican commissioner opposed the measure. The other Republican commissioner supported the proposal only in part. Under the new Nasdaq rules, listed companies would have to meet minimum targets...