Category: Podcasts

24 Jul, 2023

Episode 282 — The Evolving Partnership: Compliance and Cybersecurity

If you ask corporate board members and senior executives to list their number one risk (other than financial operations), the answer in today’s risk environment is clear – cybersecurity and data privacy. The rapid elevation of this risk is reflected in weekly headlines announcing ransomware, cyber-attacks and data breaches. Companies that have experienced a cyber-attack are forever changed. The board and senior executive team quickly...

Podcasts

17 Jul, 2023

Episode 281 — NAVEX’s 2023 State of Risk and Compliance Report

NAVEX’s annual report on the state of risk and compliance is a must read. Each year NAVEX supplies helpful insights that compliance professionals, corporate managers and board members can use to benchmark their respective risk management and compliance strategies. This year’s survey reflects submissions from over 1300 respondents around the globe. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews NAVEX’s 2023 State of Risk and Compliance Report.

Podcasts

10 Jul, 2023

Episode 280 — Healthcare Compliance and Fraud

Looking back in time, the compliance field owes a lot to the healthcare industry. In the 1990s, there was a dramatic explosion in the industry in response to aggressive federal enforcement programs and increasing regulation. All of a sudden, compliance officers who sat in the backrooms of legal departments were “volunteered” to address proactive compliance. Federal regulators pushed the compliance function to assume a much...

Podcasts

26 Jun, 2023

Episode 279 — Matt Stankiewicz and Mike Volkov Review SEC Enforcement Actions Against Binance and Coinbase

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed two separate enforcement actions targeting the cryptocurrency industry — the first against Binance and its CEO, and the second against Coinbase. The SEC’s actions underscored its aggressive strategy to reign in cryptocurrency companies. In this Episode, Matt Stankiewicz and Mike Volkov discuss these two important enforcement actions.

Podcasts

12 Jun, 2023

Episode 278 — “The New FCPA”: Sanctions and Export Control Enforcement and Compliance

Last year, the Department of Justice warned global companies of a new, aggressive strategy for enforcement of trade sanctions and export controls. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco stated that sanctions and export enforcement constituted “The New FCPA.” DOJ, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) have joined forces to aggressively enforce sanctions...

Podcasts

5 Jun, 2023

Episode 277 — The Murad OFAC Settlement and Sanctions Compliance Lessons

Over an eight-year period ending in 2018, Murad, a U.S. cosmetics company, illegally exported goods and services to Iran in 62 separate transactions worth approximately $11 million. Murad was acquired by Unilever United States (“Unilever”) in 2015. Once discovered, Unilever voluntarily disclosed the conduct to OFAC. The fallout from Murad’s long-running conspiracy: Unilever paid $3.3 million to OFAC for its Iran Sanctions violations. Interestingly, OFAC...

Podcasts

29 May, 2023

Episode 276 — Review of Philips and Franks Int’l SEC FCPA Enforcement Actions

The SEC recently announced two separate FCPA SEC enforcement actions — the first against Franks International for $8 million for FCPA violations in Angola; and the second against Philips, a Dutch medical device company, for $62 million for FCPA violations in China. The SEC settlement actions underscored important bribery risks in Angola and China. Philips’ recent settlement is its second in the last ten years. ...

Podcasts

22 May, 2023

Episode 275 — Five Steps to Enhance Your Sanctions Compliance Program

Even with the current focus on sanctions compliance, many companies have done little to assess and enhance their existing sanctions compliance program. Instead, companies have stitched together a basic sanctions compliance program that centers on a screening tool and little beyond that. Such a limited program provides just a false comfort of compliance. Many companies are not even conducting the mandated basic requirement of annual...

Podcasts

15 May, 2023

Episode 274 — Cryptocurrency and Sanctions Risks Featuring Matt Stankiewicz

The cryptocurrency industry has a target on its back – and perhaps justifiably so. The SEC, CFTC and OFAC have been bringing a number of regulatory enforcement actions, including against Bittrex, Inc. ($24,280,829.20 in settlements with OFAC and FinCEN) and Payward, Inc. d/b/a Kraken ($362,158 settlement with OFAC). Yet, the cryptocurrency has lots to worry about when it comes to compliance – fraud, cybersecurity, and...

Podcasts

8 May, 2023

Episode 273 — British American Tobacco’s $629 Settlement for Evasion of North Korean Sanctions

The Justice Department warned companies that sanctions enforcement is the “new FCPA.” Recently, DOJ delivered its first salvo to back up its message. As part of a broad effort to prosecute funding of North Korea’s nuclear program, DOJ and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced a joint settlement with British American Tobacco and its Asian marketing subsidiary (“BAT”), under which BAT agreed to...