Italy is a popular destination for tourists and those seeking connection with their Italian roots. (I confess—I married a beautiful and wonderful woman from Sicily, so I am a little biased). Europeans love to travel to Italy during their lengthy vacations. Americans look for family connections while touring Italy – everyone has Italian relatives in some village. When it comes to Italian politics, people avoid...
After years of litigation and twists and turns, Mr. Bourke finally entered jail to serve his one year and one day sentence. Whatever you may think about the facts of the case, we can all agree on one thing – the result certainly would have been different if Mr. Bourke had a compliance officer at his side. It is interesting to think about the facts...
Compliance programs depend on accurate and timely information. AML compliance centers on sifting through thousands of transactions and matching them against risk profiles. The result of that process is a focused examination of transactions and identification of suspicious transactions. Financial institutions have to create a customer risk profile against which they can measure specific transactions as they occur. This customer profile is used as...
I often use sarcasm to make the point that compliance solutions are just a profound grasp of the obvious. It is a little simplistic. On the other hand, compliance can become a little too complex. People like to come up with “sophisticated” techniques and phraseology to demonstrate they are “compliance thinkers.” Compliance professionals who wrap themselves in complexity are usually hiding from their own personal...
When I was growing up (and probably for generations), every proud parent wanted their son or daughter to go to medical school. With the increasing role of government in healthcare and the changing economics, the profession has lost a bit of its luster. Federal prosecutors are creative when it comes to developing new criminal enforcement initiatives. Over the years, federal prosecutors have taken civil laws...
Pharmaceutical and medical device companies have enough to worry about when it comes to enforcement risks. It is only in the last ten years that FCPA enforcement has been added to their list of worries. With the increase in FCPA enforcement, pharmaceutical and medical device companies have to worry about a number of interactions between their staff and foreign doctors, and foreign healthcare officials. Drug and...
One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes is “The Opposite” when George decides to do the opposite of his natural inclination, and lo and behold, his life suddenly improves. There are days when we all feel like George Costanza. Compliance professionals and lawyers apply this same principle to FCPA criminal liability. (What a transition, huh!) When it comes to avoiding criminal liability, I often use the...
I am happy to welcome a new sponsor to Corruption, Crime & Compliance – The Network. (You will see its sponsorship ad on the right hand side of the blog). I am always happy to affiliate with professionals in the compliance industry. The Network has been the leader for over 30 years by providing hotline and intake solutions and has recently deployed a new Integrated...
Kazakhstan is the most economically prosperous of the former Soviet Republics. Along with economic growth, however, has come significant corruption. Much of Kazakhstan’s growth has been due to its vast supply of natural resources, especially oil. The Kazakhstan government has kept tight control of the oil supply and government officials have benefited from its enormous oil wealth. Kazakhstan is ranked the same as Russia —...
Companies which fall under the enforcement axe usually learn from their mistakes. All it takes for most companies is the scrutiny of the federal government and then companies react with the motto – “never again!” But what happens if such change does not occur, or for some reason, you company is investigated again. The oil industry has experienced that in the FCPA arena. As a...
