Corruption, Crime & Compliance

Featured Articles:

25 Jan, 2024

A Practical Guide to Compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”)

Alexander Cotoia is currently Regulatory Compliance Manager at The Volkov Law Group, where he routinely advises the firm and its clients on domestic and international developments implicating the regulation of global supply chains. He may be reached at [email protected]. On December 31, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. signed the the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”) into law to address the ongoing exploitation of the...

General

23 Jan, 2024

“Person” of the Year: Technology and the Challenges for Ethics and Compliance

I always enjoy retrospective “year in review” postings to start off the new year. For years, I have sought to identify and capture important compliance trends, typically focused on specific professionals in the compliance arena. This year, however, is a little different. Compliance is at an important inflection point. Corporate business headlines have been dominated by technology issues. I am not convinced that these headlines...

General

22 Jan, 2024

2023 Sanctions Year in Review and Predictions

As always, I tend to repeat myself. However, one important point needs to be repeated — DOJ is in the midst of launching an aggressive sanctions and export control program against corporations and individuals. DOJ has warned everyone, repeated this message in various speeches and, most importantly, assigned the resources — 25 new federal prosecutors to enforce sanctions and export controls — to back up...

Events

22 Jan, 2024

Webinar — 2024 Ethics and Compliance Program Priorities and Trends

Webinar: 2024 Ethics and Compliance Priorities and Trends February 6, 2024 12 Noon EST SIGN UP HERE Companies face a fast-changing enforcement and compliance environment. In the midst of this rapidly-evolving environment, companies have to prioritize compliance elements and mitigation strategies. The Justice Department with its regulatory partners are continuing to focus on anti-corruption, sanctions, export controls, antitrust, money laundering, cyber-security and fraud. At the same...

Podcasts

22 Jan, 2024

Episode 305 — Deep Dive into the SAP FCPA Settlement

SAP agreed to a three-year deferred prosecution agreement, in exchange for the payment of approximately $220 million in penalties for bribe payments made to South African and Indonesia government officials. DOJ’s resolution includes a criminal penalty of $118.8 million and forfeiture of $103.4 million, along with a credit of $55.1 million against amounts paid by SAP to South African law enforcement authorities, and the full...

Uncategorized

18 Jan, 2024

A Recap of Significant Export Control Enforcement Efforts from 2023

Alexander J. Cotoia currently serves as the Regulatory Compliance Manager at The Volkov Law Group, where he regularly advises the firm and its clients on the latest developments implicating trade compliance concerns. He may be reached at [email protected]; As global political tensions continued to escalate on multiple fronts, the 2023 calendar year saw a noticeable increase in the number of enforcement actions initiated by the U.S....

General

17 Jan, 2024

Lessons Learned from the SAP Enforcement Action — DOJ Changes Tack on FCPA Enforcement While SEC Digs into Third-Party Controls (Part III of III)

A careful reading of the DOJ and SEC settlement documents for the SAP case will puzzle you. I know I am scratching my head trying to make sense of the whole picture here. There are a number of significant indicators of a change in DOJ’s tack, along with SEC’s aggressive push on third-party controls. DOJ’s position is even more difficult to understand as explained below....

General

16 Jan, 2024

SAP’s Bribery Schemes — Systemic Corruption Around the Globe (Part II of III)

When it comes to FCPA enforcement and expectations, DOJ has moved the goalposts. Some would argue that DOJ has been consistent all along. The truth, like most issues, lies somewhere between the extremes. With lots of fanfare, DOJ implemented a new Corporate Enforcement Program to udnerscore its intent to examine the criminal and civil enforcement history of corporate defendants when considering an appropriate penalty. This...

General

16 Jan, 2024

SAP Returns to U.S. Enforcement Scene: Pays DOJ and SEC Over $220 Million to Resolve FCPA Violations (Part I of III)

Life is always filled with surprises. Just when we thought 2023 was a “slow” FCPA enforcement year, DOJ and SEC announced a large enforcement action against SAP for approximately $220 million for FCPA violations in South Africa, and Indonesia. The SEC’s enforcement action for $98 million includes SAP FCPA violations in Greater Africa and Azerbaijan. SAP is no stranger to U.S, enforcement agencies. In 2021,...

Podcasts

15 Jan, 2024

Episode 304 — Natalie Druckmann, VP from Certa, on Cutting Edge Third-Party Risk Management

Natalie Druckmann, Vice President at Certa, joins Michael Volkov to discuss third-party risk management and the use of advanced artificial intelligence to implement effective risk mitigation strategies. Natalie sets the strategy for Certa’s expansion into the EMEA markets and growing Certa’s customer base with the use of Certa’s advanced AI tool — CertaAssist. CertaAssist’s suite of intelligent solutions include: The initial roll-out of CertaAssist has...