Goldman Sachs’ role in the 1MDB scandal continues to draw scrutiny.  Justice Department prosecutors are investigating the extent to which Goldman Sachs knew and participated in the 1MDB scandal, and what penalty, if any, Goldman Sachs should pay.  The recent indictment and guilty plea of two former Goldman Sachs officials represents a significant development in the ongoing investigation. In this episode, Michael Volkov discusses recent...

Tom Fox recently posted a conversation on his blog, FCPA Compliance Report, reviewing FCPA enforcement practices and policies over the last five years, culminating in the FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy. The podcast is available here. NAVEX Global’s compliance online community, Compliance Next, has posted a video I recorded on responding to potential misconduct.  The video is available here. Thanks for your continuing support!!

The Ethics and Compliance Initiative (“ECI”) continues to publish important surveys and studies.  In a recent report (available here), the ECI cited important research from its Q3 Global Business Ethics Survey (“GBES”) demonstrating the value of ethical communications and trust in an organization.  In particular, the ECI study found that: Employees are 11 times more likely to speak up when faced with witnessing wrongdoing in...

NAVEX Global continues to publish important research and guidance on ethics and compliance program (benchmark reports for hotline systems here, third-party risk management systems here, and policies and procedure management here). In an interesting new report (here), NAVEX Global enlisted Professor Kyle Welch from George Washington University’s Business School to analyze years of NAVEX Global’s hotline data.  Professor Welch was given access to over ten...

Compliance officers have enough challenges.  Most compliance officers, if you ask them, will candidly admit they are constantly putting out fires.  It is just part of the profession and comes with the territory. I hate to add to their burden but here goes anyway – companies face serious financial risks: I do not mean in the profitability way but in the fact that employee misconduct...

As Goldman Sachs continues to navigate its way through the 1MDB investigation and prosecution, there is no question that the media is beginning to focus on who at Goldman Sachs knew about the bribery activity (or should have known) and what liability, if any, Goldman Sachs will incur as a result. At the outset, it is important to remember what facts have been disclosed so...

Stryker Corporation has suffered a second FCPA enforcement action, and will now bear the stigma of FCPA “recidivist.”  In reaching a settlement with the SEC and agreeing to pay a $7.8 million civil penalty, Stryker will now be subject to an SEC-imposed compliance monitor. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews the facts surrounding the Stryker SEC settlement.

Webinar: Measuring Your Compliance Program: Data and Analytics December 4, 2018, 12 Noon EST Sign Up HERE As companies’ ethics and compliance programs mature, chief compliance officers are focusing on important questions relating to compliance program performance, how to measure program performance and what types of data should be collected and analyzed. Join Michael Volkov, CEO of The Volkov Law Group, as he discusses best...

We all enjoy citing Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s famous description relating to obscene materials, “I know it when I see it.” To apply this maxim in the corporate compliance field does not take much imagination.  Let’s start with the most important corporate control for any organization – its culture? How do we define a positive culture of ethics and compliance?  We can throw out...

As companies seek to attract talented employees in a competitive market, Human Resource officers have to be aware of and avoid serious potential antitrust risks.  The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has put everyone on notice – corporations will be criminally prosecuted if they enter into anti-competitive agreements with competitors concerning hiring and retention of employees. The Antitrust Division and the FTC have prosecuted companies under...