SAP agreed to a three-year deferred prosecution agreement, in exchange for the payment of approximately $220 million in penalties for bribe payments made to South African and Indonesia government officials. DOJ’s resolution includes a criminal penalty of $118.8 million and forfeiture of $103.4 million, along with a credit of $55.1 million against amounts paid by SAP to South African law enforcement authorities, and the full...
Natalie Druckmann, Vice President at Certa, joins Michael Volkov to discuss third-party risk management and the use of advanced artificial intelligence to implement effective risk mitigation strategies. Natalie sets the strategy for Certa’s expansion into the EMEA markets and growing Certa’s customer base with the use of Certa’s advanced AI tool — CertaAssist. CertaAssist’s suite of intelligent solutions include: The initial roll-out of CertaAssist has...
In November 2023, HHS-OIG issued a comprehensive document, the General Compliance Program Guidance (“GCPG”), which outlines important compliance guidance for the healthcare industry. The GCPG provides specific guidance on compliance with the Federal anti-kickback statute (“AKS”), the Physician Self-Referral Law (“Stark Law”), the False Claims Act, HIPAA Privacy and Security, Exclusion Authorities, and Criminal Healthcare Fraud. Aside from this important compendium of statutory and regulatory...
On November 21, 2023, The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced settlement agreements with Binance Holdings Limited (“Binance”), the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and Changpeng Zhao (affectionally known as “CZ” in the cryptocurrency industry), the exchange’s founder and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”). Under these agreements, Binance and CZ each agreed to plead guilty to a variety of offenses in order to resolve the ongoing investigations. ...
Steve Naughton, a well-known and accomplished compliance professional, joins Michael Volkov to discuss his compliance career and his role as the Director of Regulatory Compliance Studies and Clinical Professor at the Loyola University Chicago Law School. Steve has served in a variety of important roles in corporate compliance, including Pepsi. Co, and Kimberly-Clark, as well as the Monitor appointed to the Volkswagen case. In this...
DOJ announced settlements with two U.K.-based reinsurance brokers, H.W. Wood Limited (“Wood”) and Tysers Insurance Brokers (“Tysers”) for their participation in a bribery scheme involving Seguros Sucre S.A. (“Sucre”) and Seguros Rocafuerte S.A. (“Rocafuerte”), two state-owned insurance companies in Ecuador. Wood and Tysers each entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with DOJ and agreed to the filing of a criminal information in the Southern...
Bobby Butler, a well-known and long-time compliance professional, joins Michael Volkov for a thought-provoking discussion on the rise of the compliance profession. Bobby has had a long and successful career in compliance. He provides important insights into the evolution of the compliance profession, strategies for building compliance programs and the future of compliance and the compliance profession.
Companies have a vested interest in preserving internal communications for a variety of reasons — to hold actors accountable, and to protect the organization from potential private and government claims or investigations that may have serious direct or collateral consequences. Companies that want to use ephemeral messaging systems can do so but they have to understand the risks involved and tailor appropriate controls and procedures...
LRN’s annual Program Effectiveness Report is chock full of important findings. Frankly, LRN’s PEI Report is a “board worthy” report (as Donna Boehme used to say — every board member should read it). Susan and Michael discuss several important findings in LRN’s 2023 Report: High-performing ethics and compliance programs rely principally on values to motivate and guide ethical and compliant behavior — LRN’s Report confirms again...
The Securities and Exchange Commission continues to rack up FCPA enforcement actions. In its latest settlement, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings agreed to pay $26.1 million for bribery violations committed by its former Chinese subsidiary. According to Clear Channel, the Department of Justice closed its FCPA investigation. Clear Channel, a San Antonio-based advertising company, paid bribes to Chinese government officials with cash, gift cards, first-class travel,...
