Corruption, Crime & Compliance

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24 Oct, 2023

Webinar: Electronic Communications Risks in the Era of Ephemeral Messaging

Webinar: Electronics Communications Risks in the Era of Ephemeral Messaging November 14, 2023, 12 Noon EST SIGN UP HERE 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...

General

24 Oct, 2023

Cigna Group Falls Under the False Claims Axe and Pays Over $172 Million for Abuse of Medicare Advantage Program

As if corporate healthcare businesses needed an enforcement reminder, DOJ recently announced a settlement with Cigna Group for $172 million to resolve claims that Cigna exaggerated patient illnesses to extract more money from the Medicare Advantage Program. Under the Medicare Advantage (MA) Program, also known as Medicare Part C, Medicare beneficiaries have the option of obtaining their Medicare-covered benefits through private insurance plans called MA...

General

23 Oct, 2023

OFAC Provides Venezuela with Sanctions Relief, Authorizes Certain Transactions in the Oil and Gas Industry

Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group PC, rejoins us for an important blog posting concerning OFAC’s recent relaxation of the Venezuela Sanctions Program. Matt can be reached at [email protected]. On October 18, 2023, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) took several steps to provide Venezuela with some limited relief from its sanctions. The relief includes General Licenses authorizing...

Podcasts

23 Oct, 2023

Episode 295 — Deep Dive into the Albemarle DOJ and SEC FCPA Settlement

Albemarle Corporation (Albemarle), a specialty chemicals manufacturing company located in Charlotte, North Carolina, agreed to pay more than $218 million to settle FCPA investigations with DOJ and the SEC stemming from bribery payments in Vietnam, Indonesia and India. Albemarle entered into a three-year non-prosecution agreement (“NPA”) with DOJ and agreed to pay a penalty of approximately $98.2 million and an administrative forfeiture of approximately $98.5...

General

20 Oct, 2023

DOJ Revises Standard Ethics and Compliance Requirements Used in Settlements

Daniela Melendez, an Associate at The Volkov Law Group, an Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Manager at The Volkov Law Group, rejoin us for another posting on DOJ’s recent modifications to its compliance requirements. Daniela can be reached at [email protected] and Alex can be reached at [email protected]. As The Volkov Law Group previously noted in the context of a blog post authored by Michael Volkov, the U.S....

General

19 Oct, 2023

Practical Steps to Mitigate Electronics Communications Risks: “This is the Way” (Part III of III)

I always welcome any chance to use references to The Mandalorian series on Disney (or Ashoka for that matter) in the compliance arena. My take on the issue of electronic communications and ephemeral messaging is rooted in practical, risk-based strategies to avoid potential legal consequences that appear to be steadily growing as DOJ and courts deal with the issues. So, “This is the Way,” at...

General

18 Oct, 2023

Electronic Communications Risks — DOJ Enters the Fray in March 2023 (Part II of III)

Just to play devil’s advocate (or perhaps to push my agenda), I have conflicting views on corporate use of ephemeral messaging applications. On the one hand, I understand the importance of managing electronics communications data, prioritizing the preservation of relevant data, and reducing attendant costs from managing ever-growing amounts of electronic data. On the other hand, as a former prosecutor and now defense counsel, I...

General

17 Oct, 2023

Electronic Communications Risks — Asking the Critical Questions? (Part I of III)

Honestly, I have been avoiding this topic since it presents a real morass of risks and potential traps for the unwary company and Chief Compliance and Chief Legal Officers. When I first examined the issue, I understood DOJ’s frustration. If bad actors can escape detection and subsequent punishment (internal or external) by using ephemeral messaging applications to delete illegal or improper communications, companies should simply...

General

17 Oct, 2023

Mike Volkov and Julie DiMauro Discuss the FCPA and its Evolution

I had the honor of appearing on GRIP, Global Relay’s podcast, with long-time colleague and friend, Julie DiMauro, to discuss a range of related FCPA topics: You can listen to our discussion here. You can listen to our discussion here.

Podcasts

16 Oct, 2023

Episode 294 — Catch Up on OFAC Enforcement Actions: 3M and Emigrant Bank

The past few weeks have not been kind to 3M. The company recently settled with the SEC for $6.5 million to resolve alleged FCPA violations related to its Chinese subsidiary’s dealings with Chinese state-owned healthcare institutions. Another federal agency, OFAC, yesterday announced that it had settled with 3M for $9.6 million over alleged violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations. In another OFAC enforcement action, Emigrant Bank (“Emigrant”),...