Corruption, Crime & Compliance

Featured Articles:

20 Mar, 2018

DOJ Settles Follow-On FCPA Case: Transport Logistics Pays $2 Million Penalty

Last week, the Justice Department announced its first FCPA enforcement action in 2018 – a follow-on settlement from prior FCPA enforcement actions centering on a bribery scheme involving a Russian government official from a subsidiary of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation. Three individuals have been charged in connection with the bribery scheme. Transport Logistics International, a Maryland company, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and...

General

19 Mar, 2018

First FCPA Action of 2018: Elbit Imaging

No one needs to be reminded about the importance of anti-corruption compliance. For global companies, anti-corruption risks are amongst the top 3 risks identified by corporate leaders. Global companies face a growing network of international anti-corruption law enforcement agents and prosecutors who are coordinating and sharing intelligence. The globalization of anti-corruption enforcement has increased significantly the risk of detection and prosecution. While the Justice Department...

Podcasts

18 Mar, 2018

Episode 30 — Common Due Diligence Problems (Part III of III)

Companies continue to face significant risks from their third parties. In response, companies are implementing sophisticated due diligence and third party risk management systems. FCPA enforcement risks are only one of several risks created by a company’s third parties. Companies have to screen and review their third parties for corruption, sanctions, money laundering, antitrust, human trafficking, child labor and reputational risks. In this three-part series,...

General

15 Mar, 2018

Connecting with Your Employees – What is Your Company’s Purpose?

Companies are getting on the bandwagon – corporate culture matters. Business ethics is important. My worry is whether this new acknowledgement is viewed as a short-cut for compliance investment. CEOs and the board are troubled by (and even resisting) the resources needed to implement an effective compliance program. Unfortunately, this attitude reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the importance of an ethical culture and robust compliance...

General

14 Mar, 2018

Compliance and the Attorney-Client Privilege

Chief compliance officers have to work closely with the chief legal officer or general counsel on a number of important issues. In certain circumstances, CCOs have to be mindful of the importance of the company’s ability to assert the attorney-client privilege. While CCOs tend to lean in favor of disclosure and transparency as an important principle in promoting a company’s compliance program, there are a...

General

13 Mar, 2018

Compliance Needs to Understand Business

A chief compliance officer needs to be independent and have adequate authority within the organization. But do not get confused by the concept of independence. Compliance depends on collaborative relationships with other corporate functions. Most importantly, a compliance program’s success depends on its ability to embrace the company’s business. To do so, the compliance staff has to learn and understand the company’s business inside and...

General

12 Mar, 2018

Sapin II and French Anti-Corruption Enforcement

As more countries enter into the anti-corruption enforcement world, companies face exponential risks of detection and enforcement. Recently, Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein has commented on the need to avoid unfair enforcement actions by multiple jurisdiction based on a single course of conduct. This approach has been reflected in FCPA enforcement actions involving multiple countries and resulting in division of fines and penalties. The United States...

General

11 Mar, 2018

The SEC Targets ICOs for Enforcement

I am always amazed at how “business” entrepreneurs ignore enforcement risks in the face of specific warnings from regulators. The SEC and the CFTC have made it clear to the emerging initial coin offering (ICO) and cryptocurrency markets that they intend to vigorously monitor and enforce securities and commodities regulations against the burgeoning industry. Yet, the latest vehicle for scams continue unabated, driven by greed...

Podcasts

11 Mar, 2018

Episode 29 — Building Blocks for an Effective Due Diligence Program (Part II of III)

General

8 Mar, 2018

Five Questions for Corporate Boards on Oversight of Compliance

Let’s face it – corporate boards are not adept at overseeing a company’s compliance program. In the absence of a board member who has prior compliance expertise, corporate boards either ignore or struggle to fulfill their compliance oversight responsibilities. Corporate governance performance is suffering from this serious gap between compliance responsibilities and compliance capabilities. Corporate boards are under increasing pressure to improve their performance, including...