Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past and present are certain to miss the future -John F. Kennedy The measure of intelligence is the ability to change -Albert Einstein We are pleased to announce the release of a new, rebranded and refreshed podcast — Corruption, Crime & Compliance. Under the old banner, we produced 249 episodes. Listen for...
The Biden Administration promised a new, aggressive approach to corporate crime. Well, the Justice Department just delivered a new, comprehensive policy that raises a number of issues, some of which are likely to be controversial. The new policy incorporates reforms announced last October that largely centered on prior corporate criminal and civil records; appointment of independent compliance monitors and expanding review of responsible persons in an internal...
The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission reached a $41 million settlement with GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (“GOL”) to resolve criminal and civil foreign bribery charges. GOL entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) with DOJ in exchange for payment of a $17 million criminal penalty. DOJ credited $1.7 million of that penalty against a $3.4 million fine that GOL agreed...
Corporate culture is all the rage now, meaning it is an often used topic to signal commitment, sensitivity to issues of employee concern, and an awareness of governance trends. In practice, as we all know, culture is not just about words — it is about action. As the often repeated phrase goes — talk is cheap. In this Corporate Culture Roundup Episode, Michael Volkov examines some culture-related...
As the leading hotline provider in the global market, NAVEX is in the unique position of collecting and analyzing employee reporting trends. Each year, NAVEX issues an important report on current trends in employee reporting, whistleblowers, internal investigations and potential retaliation. NAVEX’s most recent report is interesting. NAVEX’s database consists of 1.37 million reports made in 2021 at organizations around the world. In this Episode, Michael Volkov...
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district judge’s post-conviction dismissal of FCPA counts against Lawrence Hoskins, a former Alston executive, for his involvement in bribery scheme to secure a $118 million energy contract in Indonesia. The Hoskins FCPA case has had a long and tortious path through the court system, and the Second Circuit’s decision, which was decided by a 2 to 1...
Chief compliance officers have access to a vast amount of data generated by their compliance programs. CCOs have to establish effective monitoring processes. A critical part of this process is to build a compliance program dashboard. This is a practical issue of real importance. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews this important issue.
In a bipartisan success story, the House recently passed The Enablers Act, which is a far-reaching reform bill aimed at reducing AML and corrupt financial activity in the United States. Scott Greytak, Advocacy Director at Transparency International USA, and Erica Hanichak, Director of Government Affairs at the FACT Coalition, join Michael Volkov for a discussion of this legislative accomplishment and the implications for the battle...
LRN has released a new and informative report on Assessing Corporate Culture. LRN’s report provides invaluable guidance and practical steps for corporate boards to lead in the management, oversight and monitoring of corporate culture. A link to the report is below, along with an earlier LRN report on Benchmarking Ethical Culture. In this Episode, Michael Volkov interviews Ty Francis, Chief Advisory Officer at LRN, concerning...
The Justice Department and various regulatory agencies continue to emphasize the importance of continuous improvement, testing and review as part of robust assessment procedures in an effective compliance program. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control has specifically stated that a sanctions compliance program should include “a comprehensive, independent, and objective testing or audit function” so that a company can determine “how their program[]...
