The responsibility for almost every act of corporate malfeasance can be laid at the doorstep of the corporate board.  Yet, directors complain about being overwhelmed by their responsibilities and their obligations to supervise and monitor.  This is especially true when it comes to compliance.  Congress has pushed corporate boards to do more and to take more responsibility.  Sarbanes-Oxley led to a radical transformation of board...

Lawyers and the FCPA paparazzi can take something simple and make it complicated.  Take the issue of state-owned enterprises.  The government is going to win its appeal in the Haiti Telco case, just like they won at the district court level in three specific cases, including Haiti Telco.  Why?  The Justice Department has interpreted the FCPA statute correctly.  All you have to do is read...

Companies like to tout their “culture of compliance.”  Sometimes companies have it and sometimes they do not.  As a Chief Compliance Officer, make sure you check under the hood when you join a company which hires you promising a commitment to a “culture of compliance.”  These words are critical but they can be empty promises. There is a fundamental disconnect between a “culture of compliance”...

As a compliance advisor, we often use the word “essential” when describing elements of a compliance program.   One of those “essential” elements is fostering internal reporting and communication. The lifeblood for a Chief Compliance Officer is internal information and reports.  The sources of such information can be whistleblowers, employees who want to report an idea or a concern, a hotline or other anonymous report, or...

Let’s add a new industry to the list of FCPA industry sweeps.  Is anyone surprised?   If I worked at DOJ or the SEC, I would simply take a look at those significant industries entering China and launch an industry-wide inquiry by issuing letters to major companies in that sector.  The predicate for an inquiry is satisfied by corruption conditions in China.  As I have said...

The Justice Department’s criminal enforcement of antitrust laws is a model of success.  DOJ’s criminal program took off in the 1990s with two major developments: (1) adoption of a corporate leniency program which increased self-reporting by cartel members; (2) enforcement against international cartels which had an impact on US consumers. Criminal fines in 2009 exceeded $1 billion, dipped to $555 million in 2010, and then...

The headlines are dominated by FCPA, Roger Clemens and John Edwards.  AML enforcement has come back to business attention.  There has been a lot of news around the subject of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws and the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) recently. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has been flexing some muscle lately in bringing cease and desist actions against banks.  Even the Vatican...

It is amusing to listen to companies complain about the burdens of anti-corruption compliance.  It is hard to sympathize when you consider the burdens on other industries, particularly the health care industry.  If the Chamber of Commerce only knew how burdensome and difficult health care regulations can be, they would quickly drop the FCPA ball and sing a new tune for health care reform —...

Companies complain about the burdens of anti-corruption compliance.  They need to put things in perspective.  The “greatest” risk of them all may be the False Claims Act (FCA). FCA violations can lead to severe consequences, especially for government contractors.  Since the FCA was amended in 1986, more than $30 billion dollars has been recovered in damages, fines and penalties, impacting a wide array of industries...

In the end, what was more pathetic – the government’s prosecution of John Edwards or John Edwards himself?  I hate to say it but both sides came out the losers. John Edwards needs to crawl back under the rock from where he came.  The sooner the better.  His post-trial statement with his daughter and parents at his side and behind him made everyone wince.  His...