The Justice Department and the Securities Exchange Commission are back in business. The first corporate FCPA enforcement action in 2021 came after a six-month hiatus in 2021. The first case against a corporate entity in 2021 is an interesting one because it reflects a coordinated settlement not only between DOJ and the SEC but the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office and Brazil’s Ministério Público Federal (MPF),...
Under Armour settled its long-pending SEC investigation by agreeing to pay $9 million surrounding misleading statements and practices relating to its revenue growth and uncertainties as to future growth. As part of the settlement, the SEC declined to bring charges against its CEO, Kevin Plank, and its CFO, David Bergman. The Justice Department inquiry appears to have lost steam since the middle of last year, and...
In a far-reaching action, the Biden Administration elevated the global fight against corruption as a national security interest. In an Executive Memorandum, the Biden Administration made a strong statement against corruption, citing the devastating impact that corruption has on democratic institutions, democratic governments, economic development, and other public interest objectives. The Administration launched a robust inter-agency review of the anti-corruption battle, including increased international cooperation,...
LRN and NAVEX Global release two important annual surveys. LRN issues a yearly report on ethics and compliance program effectiveness. NAVEX Global issues an important annual report on incident management trends based on its large database of hotline data. In this Episode, Michael Volkov review these two reports and the important ethics and compliance trends.
The ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline demonstrated yet again the failure of government and business to anticipate cybersecurity issues through traditional tools – risk and vulnerability analysis, implementation of technology and planning to minimize a cyber event, and crisis response protocol. In the aftermath of this debacle, the public lined up to purchase gallons of gasoline because of a short-term shortage in gasoline. These scenes of panic...
The Biden Administration is expected to increase antitrust enforcement against criminal cartels and bid-rigging conspiracies. Global companies have to address this significant risk by implementing a compliance program that meets the Justice Department’s 2019 Guidance on Antirust Compliance Programs. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the Antitrust Division’s Guidance and compliance program requirements.
The Justice Department and the SEC have a long history of focusing FCPA enforcement on pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Starting with a broad “industry sweep” nearly a decade ago, DOJ and the SEC have brought numerous enforcement actions. In response, drug and device companies have attempted to implement effective compliance programs. In this Episode, Mike Volkov discusses FCPA enforcement trends and compliance strategies.
Compliance programs are rapidly evolving. One of the key drivers of this transformation is the increased reliance on automated compliance functions that generate substantial data. Relying on data analytic strategies, compliance officers are quickly identifying key areas for measurement, monitoring and assessment as an important means to intervene and prevent serious misconduct. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the rapid movement toward proactive compliance and...
In a precedent-setting agreement, the Justice Department, OFAC and the Bureau of Industry Security announced a settlement with SAP SE for more than $8 million for numerous violations of the Iran Sanctions program. While the Justice Department’s National Security Division (“NSD”) has settled prior export control and sanctions cases against corporations for violations of the North Korea Sanctions program, the SAP case is the first...
Chad Main is the Founder of Percipient, a legal and compliance technology firm. Chad joins Michael Volkov for a discussion of current legal and compliance technology trends.Chad provides helpful advice on use of technology in compliance programs and functions. Chad’s company website is Here.
