Instead of wrestling over the definition of an “effective” ethics and compliance program, let’s take a step back and define what we all agree on is an “ineffective” compliance program. Unfortunately, when you work in the real world, some Chief Compliance Officers, along with senior management and the members of the board of directors are supervising and administering compliance programs that fall far short of...
Sometimes a bad idea just will not die. Sometime commentators like to return to simplistic solutions that sound good on paper. These same commentators have failed to address the practical concerns that outweigh any possible rational for enacting the so-called FCPA compliance defense. This debate has been going on for a while and I expected the idea to die out. Recently, I saw renewed discussion...
Just when everyone was anticipating the beginning of an uptick in FCPA enforcement in 2017, the Justice Department and the SEC delivered a resounding message to remind everyone that FCPA enforcement is here to stay. However, the Telia decision may be the first indication of some changes in DOJ’s FCPA enforcement policies. It is hard to say from just one major DOJ enforcement action but...
The Department of Justice’s approach to criminal prosecution of corporations and individuals has evolved over the last 20 years. Beginning with the traditional model of building criminal cases, brick-by-brick, by investigating and prosecuting individuals, traditionally used to dismantle organized crime and drug trafficking/gang organizations, the Justice Department has now embraced a new model of enlisting corporations to conduct internal investigations, usually with the assistance of...
Chief compliance officers have to be honest with themselves. While I am optimistic about the growing importance of the compliance function, I remain concerned that CEOs and senior management are slowly strangling ethics and compliance programs through delays and denials of needed human and support resources to implement an effective ethics and compliance program. So, my question to CCOs is an important one – are...
Chief compliance officers have to throw out their template for charts, diagrams and data that they use to report to the Audit/Compliance Committee and start over. Slick and colorful charts and diagrams are great but CCOs are ignoring the importance of an opportunity to educate and train the board on how to monitor and oversee a compliance program. So, let’s start over – what should...
People are getting confused. A company’s ethical culture is not a touchy-feely concept that makes everyone warm and cozy all over. At the same time, compliance controls are not hard and fast rules that are mechanically enforced with no regard to purpose or results. I always get frustrated when people like to classify concepts as either black and white. People are uncomfortable with grey concepts,...
Recently, the Justice Department announced the arrest of John Baptiste as part of an ongoing investigation into corruption in Haiti. The arrest warrant affidavit outlines an undercover investigation, including Title III wiretaps of John Baptiste’s cellphone. In this podcast, Michael Volkov reviews the investigation of Baptiste, culminating in the arrest of Baptiste on August 28, 2017. A copy of the arrest warrant affidavit is here.
I am pleased to offer a free podcast service under the same title as the blog — Corruption, Crime and Compliance. We have added a button on the left slide of the blog to make subscribing easy. Here is link to Episode 2, which includes subscription buttons: Here We have released two episodes so far, and a third episode will be released on Sunday. Episode...
At the outset, let me concede that I am not a psychiatrist (although we all feel like one at times with family members and colleagues). My observations on CEO leadership come from my own life experiences, and professional experience. I know there are lots of so-called “leadership experts” but I think much of leadership is intuitive and requires intelligence and interpersonal skills. I have worked...
