Category: Podcasts

Episode 418 — European Union Gives Final Approval to Landmark Anti-Corruption Directive

The European Union has formally approved its landmark Anti-Corruption Directive, creating the first comprehensive EU-wide anti-corruption framework. In this episode, Michael Volkov examines the Directive’s major provisions, including harmonized corruption offenses, expanded corporate liability, turnover-based penalties, whistleblower protections, and increased compliance expectations for multinational companies. Michael also discusses practical implications for compliance programs, third-party risk management, investigations procedures, and cross-border enforcement coordination as organizations prepare...

Can U.S. Companies Do Business in Venezuela Again?

Venezuela is a tempting new business arena. Many companies assume that Venezuela remained completely off limits. That is no longer accurate, the compliance risks are actually increasing. OFAC has issued new Venezuela related general licenses in 2026 involving oil and gas, petrochemicals, mining, critical minerals, financial services, and contingent investment negotiations. US companies are cautiously re-entering portions of the Venezuelan market under these specific licensing...

Episode 417 — OFAC’s $275 Million Adani Settlement: The New Era of Sanctions Enforcement

In this episode of Volkov Law TV, Michael Volkov examines OFAC’s massive $275 million settlement with Adani Enterprises Limited arising from alleged imports of Iranian-origin LPG disguised as Omani and Iraqi product. The episode explores OFAC’s aggressive focus on maritime sanctions evasion, the risks created by U.S. dollar clearing transactions, the growing importance of intelligence-driven sanctions compliance, and the lessons multinational companies must learn regarding...

Does Your Speak-Up Culture Actually Work? (Part 2)

What if you worked at a company where whistleblowers were rewarded? An internal investigation is often the result of a whistleblower concern. And this is the most important test of a company’s ethics and compliance program because employees watch exactly how leadership responds when misconduct surfaces. Poor internal investigations destroy trust through delays, inconsistent discipline, retaliation, and lack of transparency. Effective investigations require independence, speed,...

Episode 416 — DOJ Indicts Chinese Shipping Container Cartel: Antitrust Compliance Lessons for Every Company

The Justice Department unsealed a historic superseding indictment charging four of the world’s largest shipping container manufacturers — CIMC, Singamas, Dong Fang, and CXIC — and seven senior executives for conspiring to restrict global container output and fix prices from November 2019 through at least January 2024, covering an estimated $35 billion in commerce and generating near-hundredfold profit increases during the COVID pandemic. In this...

Episode 415: DOJ’s Massive $550 Million Tariff Evasion Settlement — What Every Company Needs to Know

The Department of Justice’s $549.5 million False Claims Act settlement with Perfectus Aluminum marks one of the largest customs fraud recoveries in recent years and signals an aggressive new era of tariff enforcement. In this episode, Michael Volkov examines DOJ’s expanding use of the False Claims Act to pursue alleged tariff circumvention schemes, the growing role of whistleblowers in customs enforcement, and the increasing overlap...

How Do You Avoid a Corporate Fine When Criminal Conduct Is Discovered? (Part 2)

Your company has uncovered a massive criminal scheme. You want to get out of it – you serve up the mastermind on a silver platter for the Justice Department prosecutors. You’re working with the Justice Department and you have to deliver to them one key aspect – individuals who were responsible must be held accountable. You conduct a thorough internal investigation and you collect, analyze...

How Do You Avoid a Corporate Fine When Criminal Conduct Is Discovered? (Part 1)

Your company uncovers a massive criminal scheme. Are you gonna go down with the ship or are you gonna grab onto the lifeboat that the Justice Department has sent your way? The era of big corporate fines is over, and you have to make sure that you get your company through this without a big fine. What do you do? The Justice Department’s corporate enforcement...

What Are Your Third Party AI Risks? (Part 2)

So approximately 10-20% of your third parties are going to present serious AI risks. How do you mitigate those risks? Here’s what you do. One, you assess your needs and identify the risk calculation for each of your third parties, and then you seek two fundamental solutions. Two, contractual provisions are critical, and there’s 6 of them that you need. You have to restrict data...

Episode 414 — A Conversation with Kilby Macfadden: Organizational Justice and the Future of Internal Investigations

In this episode of Corruption, Crime, and Compliance, Michael Volkov interviews Kilby Macfadden, J.D., CCEP, Managing Director and Associate General Counsel at KPMG LLP, where she serves as Head of Investigations overseeing complex ethics, compliance, and enterprise risk matters. Drawing on her extensive experience in government enforcement and corporate compliance, Kilby discusses the growing importance of organizational justice, building employee trust in internal reporting systems, and creating...