The Department of Justice secured a guilty plea from NatWest Markets, the newly-named Royal Bank of Scotland, for trade manipulation, referred to as “spoofing,” in U.S. Treasury markets. The NatWest resolution reflected new changes in DOJ’s white collar enforcement policies, including acknowledgement and consideration of NatWest’s prior misconduct (criminal and civil) and appointment of an independent compliance monitor. NatWest was not offered a deferred or non-prosecution...

In a major development, the Antitrust Division returned an indictment against six executives from aerospace engineering firms for an illegal conspiracy to restrict competition in the labor market for aerospace engineers. After warning U.S. businesses, DOJ started bringing criminal cases against businesses that restrict competition for labor through illegal price-fixing or no-poach agreements. The Connecticut criminal case represents a major step in the Justice Department’s...

Tom Fox is a leader in the ethics and compliance field. He is regularly referred to as the “Compliance Evangelist.” Tom has just released the Second Edition of The Compliance Handbook, a comprehensive review and guide to the elements of an effective ethics and compliance program. Tom is known for his practical and efficient approach to difficult ethics and compliance issues. His new Handbook is...

The Boeing 737 MAX scandal is a troublesome and disturbing case where corporate board oversight and responsibility was lacking. The implications of the board’s failure resulted in the killing of innocent passengers and the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX. Add to that a $2.5 billion settlement, a criminal case against a Chief Technical Pilot, and continuing safety and technical problems, and you have recipe for continuing disaster...

Credit Suisse Group AG (“Credit Suisse”), a global financial institution, and its London-based European subsidiary, Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited (“CSSEL”) resolved a wide-ranging bribery and fraud scheme involving investments and financing arrangements for an $850 million loan for a tuna fishing project in Mozambique. To resolve the violations, Credit Suisse agreed to pay a total of $547 million in penalties, fines and disgorgement as...

The Justice Department announced the indictment of Mark Forkner, a former Chief Technical Pilot for Boeing for his role in the 737 MAX scandal. Specifically, Forkner is charged with deceiving the FAA’s Aircraft Evaluation Group (“FAA AEG”) relating to Boeing’s 737 MAX airplane and defrauding Boeings U.S.-based airline customers to earn millions of dollars for Boeing. Boeing’s 737 MAX scandal is tragic and disturbing. In January...

The Biden Administration announced its commitment to the global battle against corruption as a new, national security issue. This policy is a significant transformation in the U.S. commitment to the battle against corruption. In this Episode, Scott Greytak from Transparency International USA joins us to discuss the current policy initiatives surrounding the global commitment to fight corruption.