The FCPA has broad extraterritorial reach. Everyone knows that and understands how foreign conduct can be prosecuted in the United States courts. FCPA violators, however, are learning about the long-arm of the law and the United States government’s ability to apprehend suspected criminals around the globe. The recent guilty plea of Bernd Kowalewski, the former CEO of BizJet, should be an important reminder. Kowalewski was...
You have to admire some people for their chutzpah. In a recent Global Fraud Survey conducted by Ernst & Young (available Here), survey results suggested that anti-corruption compliance may be “running out of steam.” If accurate, the results are surprising. Anti-corruption enforcement is a growing risk, not just in the United States but across the globe. We are witnessing a global movement that will increase...
Niagara Falls, slowly I turn, step-by-step, inch-by-inch. In a creative epiphany, I have found a way to link together one of my favorite Three Stooges (Curly was my hero) scenes and Wal-Mart’s current situation in Delaware relating to discovery of materials in an ongoing shareholder lawsuit. Watch the video here. Michael Scher, a leading commentator on FCPA issues on the FCPA Blog, has pointed out...
Companies spend a lot of time and effort promoting a “Speak Up” culture. Even before the SEC’s whistleblower program, senior managers recognized that they needed to know what is occurring in the company. The only way to learn is to encourage officers, managers and employees to speak up. It is easy to say you are committed to such a culture. It is much harder to...
The SEC has a real perception problem. They cannot win in court. Whether this is fair or not, the SEC needs to move beyond this fear of losing since it only undermines the integrity of its enforcement program. As a former prosecutor, I can assure you that prosecutors, just like trial lawyers, will lose a case. There is no shame in that since you cannot...
Chief Compliance Officers need the support of their Board of Directors. The relationship between the CCO and the head of the Audit/Compliance Committee sends an important message to senior management and the entire company on the importance of ethics and compliance. CCO reporting to the Audit/Compliance Committee has to be structured carefully to promote ethics and compliance. Here are my five best practices that should...
The Internet is littered with FCPA Mid-Year Assessments and reports on enforcement activity and so-called trends and developments. Talk about making mountains out of molehills. Some of the reports are excellent; others are rehashes filled with “analysis” that are intended to promote FCPA fear marketing. Most importantly, the reports suggest that the numbers reflect intentional increases or decreases in enforcement of the FCPA. That is...
Jon Umarov, an Associate at The Volkov Law Group, returns for another post on Russia and the pharmaceutical industry. Jon’s profile is here. He can be reached at [email protected]. The Russian government has targeted the pharmaceutical industry for growth and development, adopting a program Pharma 2020 Strategy. This program aims to improve the competitiveness of the Russian pharmaceutical industry and localize production resources of international...
Lauren Connell, Managing Associate at The Volkov Law Group, joins us again for a post on corporate culture and employee surveys. Her profile can be viewed here. She can be reached at [email protected]. It is always amazing to me how reluctant people are to ask direct questions. Interviewers freeze up when they have to ask the big question – “Did you steal the money?” Boyfriends...
Chief Compliance Officers are on their way to achieving their dream. All of the trends are looking up – compliance influence is up, and budgets and resources are growing. CCOs want to be part of the C-Suite. According to the last PWC Compliance Survey, only 29 percent of CCOs have made it into the C-Suite but that will increase. Only 27 percent of CCOs continue...
