Featured Articles:

Beneficial Ownership: Sanctions and FCPA Compliance

Financial institutions have been pushing back hard on FinCEN’s proposal to require banks, investment banks and other financial institutions to identify beneficial owners of account holders. As time goes on the impact of FinCEN’s proposal is diminishing. Why? In general, businesses have other reasons to secure beneficial ownership information. One key concern is sanctions compliance. To the extent an account holder engages in international transactions,...

Webinar: Review of Iran and Cuba Sanctions Programs — Compliance Challenges

Review of Iran and Cuba Sanctions Programs — Compliance Challenges February 16, 2016 12 Noon EST Sign Up Here The US government has implemented major changes to the Iran and Cuba sanctions programs. Recently, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets implemented major revisions effective on Implementation Day under the US-Iran Nuclear Agreement. For compliance professionals, the revised restrictions raise serious compliance challenges.  In addition...

Prosecuting Individuals – The Coming Wave

When the Justice Department adopts new strategies and policies, it takes time for results. Rest assured, however, that the Justice Department’s focus on individual accountability is going to have real and significant consequences. The political blowback to DOJ’s prosecution strategies started with the failure to indict or seriously investigate senior executives connected to financial institutions involved in the financial crisis of 2008 to 2009. The...

Fraud and Bribery: Segregation of Duties

Some things go together. Chocolate chip cookies and milk, Hepburn and Tracy, Lewis and Martin (I know, I am showing my age, but you get the point), and many other favorite combinations. So, you get the point – in the world of anti-bribery compliance, and another in my series of profound grasps of the obvious – fraud and bribery go hand in hand. One of...

How to Keep Your Whistleblower(s) “Happy” (or Satisfied)

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony – Mahatma Gandhi Happiness is an elusive concept – for some. For others who may be more enlightened or lived for years, happiness is a feeling that can be attained by commitment, determination and awareness.  My keys to happiness are love, gratitude and empathy. Some people are “content” being...

Bribery Requires – Money

I have to confess – I love the show Shark Tank. Mr. Wonderful, Kevin O’Leary, is my favorite Shark. Mr. Wonderful often reminds the contestants and other Sharks that the central issue in considering business proposals is – How do I make M-O-N-E-Y? The same focus on money has to be at the core of any anti-corruption compliance program. In examining a company’s risk profile,...

The Changes to Iran Sanctions and Compliance Challenges

Putting aside the politics surrounding the Iran Nuclear Deal, the exchange of prisoners and other hot button political issues surrounding Implementation Day and the change in US-Iran relations, the new Iran sanctions create a new set of challenges for trade compliance officers. Talk about a headache — all you have to do is look at the new guidance, Frequently Asked Questions, and related documentation (Here)....

Prosecuting CCOs v. Holding CCOs Accountable

There has been a lot written about CCOs fearing prosecution for compliance failures. Not to say there is no risk, but the truth lies really in the middle.  From my perspective, there is too much fear-mongering around this issue. Let’s look at one extreme – a CCO who engages in misconduct should be prosecuted. A good example of this case is the prosecution of Thomas...

The Antitrust Leniency Model and FCPA Enforcement

I am always wary of simplistic policy proposals – often the simple idea to apply one policy to another subject matter, just does not work. Instead, policy debate will turn to the simple idea and how it can easily be applied in other circumstances. Not to get too cute, but the inquiry requires deciding on which idiom to apply: Is this a situation where: “If...

Is Your Anti-Corruption Compliance Program “Operational”?

The Justice Department and the SEC are tired of investigating companies with “paper” compliance programs. It is easy to spot a “paper” compliance program – as the saying goes, you can smell it a mile away. The key distinguishing feature of an effective compliance program and a “paper” program can be distilled down to the question of whether the program is “operational.” Hui Chen, the...