Notwithstanding the pandemic and remote working arrangements, the Securities and Exchange Commission is continuing to bring FCPA enforcement actions.  In its latest action, the SEC settled with Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $21 million for foreign bribery and books and records violations.  In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the Alexion FCPA enforcement action and the lessons learned for compliance professionals.

Companies face a daunting challenge to reassure and regain trust and integrity with employees.  CEOs should view the current situation as an opportunity to improve a company’s culture by building on the company’s trust and integrity values. Aside from basic economic questions, companies have to ensure that employee health and safety are assured.  In this pandemic era and with the spread of disinformation by politicians,...

Even during this difficult time of the pandemic, economic uncertainty and social unrest, the Justice Department and the SEC have concluded a major FCPA enforcement action.  Novartis and Alcon (which was a Novartis subsidiary at the time of the misconduct) agreed to pay a total of $345 million in criminal and civil penalties.  Novartis spun off Alcon in 2019. Under the DOJ settlement, Novartis and...

The Justice Department’s recent revisions to the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs highlights an important trend and evolution of prosecution focus.  DOJ’s Revised Corporate Compliance Guidance recognized and reinforced the continuing focus on post-acquisition integration versus pre-acquisition due diligence.  For years, DOJ and compliance professionals placed significant emphasis on pre-acquisition due diligence.  This balance has been adjusted over the last ten years to raise the...

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division recently announced the indictment in Colorado federal court of four executives from two chicken producer companies for participation in a long-running price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracy in the sale of broiler chickens to grocers, fast-food companies and other sellers of chicken products. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews the indictment, the factual allegations and reviews antitrust compliance lessons learned.

The Department of Justice quietly issued revisions to its Corporate Compliance Program Guidance.  DOJ’s revisions underscore important new trends in corporate compliance — the importance of resources and empowerment, continuous monitoring, proactive strategies, access to and use of data, consistent discipline and new, training strategies. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews DOJ’s changes to its Corporate Compliance Guidance and puts the changes in perspective to...

Paul Kruse, former CEO of Blue Bell Ice Cream, was recently charged with criminal charges stemming from the sale of contaminated ice cream, resulting in the death of three persons.  Kruse was aware of serious safety and contamination issues arising from the production of Blue Bell ice cream.  Notwithstanding his knowledge, Kruse ignored safety concerns and withheld critical information from its customers and consumers. In...

Boeing Airlines was the leader in safety and financial success.  Unfortunately, Boeing has suffered a significant fall from grace as a result of its 737 Max safety record and two devastating crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. The Boeing safety scandal has had a devastating impact on Boeing’s performance and uncovered a corporate culture that has been obsessed with financial performance to the detriment of safety...

In a two-part series, Michael Volkov examines the continuing problem of identifying and mitigating beneficial ownership risks.  Money launderers and corrupt individuals continue to rely on corporate structures to disguise their ownership interests to further illicit schemes.  Companies have to develop strategies that practically address the risks without dedicating disproportionate resources to the problem. In the first episode, Michael Volkov discusses beneficial ownership risks and...