Featured Articles:

Derailing Internal Reviews, Audits, Assessments and Investigations

Following FCPA enforcement actions provides important insights that can be translated into corporate compliance program best practices. One key element of an effective ethics and compliance program is conducting periodic assessments, and implementing an efficient and responsive internal investigation protocol. Under the Sentencing Guidelines, an effective ethics and compliance program has to prevent and detect potential violations of law and the company’s code of conduct....

A Teaching Moment Inside VimpelCom’s Boardroom

The VimpelCom FCPA settlement underscored the importance of Compliance 2.0 and the need to reform board deliberations and governance. No one can read the facts without shaking their heads and asking – what was the VimpelCom board thinking? The VimpelCom board’s failure to act reflects the key driving force inside the corporate boardroom – defense. When a company is not being led by the board...

Individual Criminal Prosecutions and Deterrence

The issue of deterrence is easy to boil down – a company pays a fine of $500 million for illegal conduct and continues on its merry way. If the same company pays the same fine of $500 million and three of its top executives are prosecuted, convicted, and sent to jail, then the value of deterrence has increased significantly. Common sense tells us that deterrence...

PTC Settlement: Compliance Reminders for Internal Controls, Travel and Gifts

PTC, a Massachusetts software company, reached settlements with the SEC and DOJ last week for FCPA violations for a total of $28 million. Interestingly, the SEC announced a DPA with a PTC official who assisted in the investigation. DOJ also reappeared on the FCPA enforcement radar with a non-prosecution agreement and collection of a $14 million fine. The SEC reached a $14 million settlement with...

The Force Awakens: Vimpelcom’s FCPA Settlement and the Wreckage Left Behind (Part II of II)

The Vimpelcom FCPA enforcement action is stunning in its breadth and the brazen nature of the bribery scheme. It is hard to accept that such conduct stretched into 2011 to 2013, given the significant emphasis placed on anti-corruption enforcement in the corporate governance world. It is easy to ask but hard to imagine how many other major companies are operating with such flimsy attention to...

Webinar: Compliance Program Pointers from Recent FCPA Enforcement Actions

Webinar: March 9, 2016, 12 Noon EST Sign Up Here FCPA enforcement actions provide important compliance tips and reminders for anti-corruption compliance programs. In this webinar, we will review FCPA enforcement actions for the last few years and present a number of important compliance program tips and reminders. Join Michael Volkov, CEO of The Volkov Law Group, for a discussion of FCPA enforcement actions and...

Return of the Jedi (DOJ): The Vimpelcom Enforcement Action (Part I of II)

Welcome back to the Department of Justice and FCPA enforcement. After a lengthy hiatus, DOJ returned to the FCPA enforcement scene with a demonstration of its full capability, assuming certain individuals are prosecuted criminally out of the case. (I know technically they reappeared with the PTC non-prosecution agreement but give me a little literary license). Overview In a top-10 worthy enforcement action, DOJ and the...

Three Keys to Minimizing Employment Litigation Risks

In this era of shooting-from-the-hip or bombastic Donald Trump comments, companies have to attend to reducing employment litigation risks. In this era of nuisance litigation and employment-focused litigation, companies need to take affirmative steps to reduce employment claims and related litigation. There are three key steps that every company should take in order to reduce employment litigation exposure.   Companies have to recognize potential employee concerns...

Never Underestimate – Your Company’s Hotline(s)

Every company has put in place a reporting hotline – whether a telephone number and/or website, companies offer employees an avenue to raise a concern. Employees will report concerns, but they have to trust the reporting system to be responsive. When you ask compliance professionals and others who monitor the reporting system if it is valuable, you hear the common statistic – 80 percent of...

Criminal Antitrust Enforcement for FY 2015

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division is its own world – even in the area of criminal enforcement. Unlike other areas where criminal enforcement against individuals has lagged, the Antitrust Division has a strong record of prosecuting companies and responsible individuals. Approximately 3 individuals are prosecuted for every company that is criminal prosecuted. That is a pretty strong record. The Antitrust Division’s engine is its...