Corruption, Crime & Compliance

Featured Articles:

17 Nov, 2015

FCPA Enforcement — Corporate Crime and Punishment

The Justice Department’s reexamination of corporate incentives to disclose violations appears to be in reaction to the steady escalation of cooperation requirements. In response to these extra burdens, DOJ could be concerned that FCPA voluntary disclosures will dwindle. For years, voluntary disclosures have fueled DOJ’s FCPA enforcement program. In the context of a voluntary disclosure program, I have consistently written that DOJ has failed to...

General

15 Nov, 2015

Resetting FCPA Prosecution Policies

Recent press reports suggest that the Justice Department is reconsidering its FCPA criminal prosecution policies, particularly with respect to corporate defendants. As reported, DOJ is considering defining and increasing corporate benefits from voluntary disclosures and cooperation. This re-evaluation appears to have been triggered by changes in the Criminal Division leadership. DOJ’s recent Yates memorandum imposed new and significant obligations on companies seeking credit for cooperation...

General

12 Nov, 2015

Turning the CEO Around: How to Make Sure the CEO Embraces Ethics and Compliance

Your CEO is either on board for compliance, or he/she is not. There is no half-way mark here, no way to deceive or soft-shoe your way through the compliance requirement. Yet it is common to see a CEO who is not committed and a Chief Compliance Officer who is in denial and points to half-hearted steps to justify their own self-deception. CCOs need to take...

General

10 Nov, 2015

Deutsche Bank and Sanctions Violations: More to Come

Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $258 million and fire six employees to resolve a New York and Federal Reserve investigation for sanctions violations from 1999 to 2006. The settlement is big news but ignores three key players who are continuing to investigate Deutsche Bank: the Justice Department; the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”); and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Deutsche Bank has...

General

9 Nov, 2015

Does Training + Code of Ethics = Culture of Ethics?

Complacency in compliance is a cancer on a company’s culture. Woody Allen said it best in Annie Hall: A [compliance program] relationship, I think, is like a shark. You know? It has to constantly move forward or it dies. And I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark. Here is the video clip of the scene: here When a Chief Compliance...

General

8 Nov, 2015

New “Guidance” from DOJ on Compliance

I am a positive person (anyone who has to say that raises doubts). At least I like to think I am. I am not yet sold on the wisdom of DOJ’s hiring of a compliance counsel. Frankly, I have a lot more respect for the knowledge and experience of line prosecutors at DOJ and their supervisors on this issue – they know and understand compliance...

General

4 Nov, 2015

Defining a Corporate Culture of Ethics and Compliance

Some things are easy to define by negative inferences. Corporate ethics or business ethics are not the same as legal ethics. Business ethics are not the same as our philosophy ethics – Aristotle and all of the classic philosophers were not operating in a corporate context. Some things require a positive definition. To bring about real change in the area of business ethics, a clear...

General

3 Nov, 2015

Justice Department Charges Pharma President with Kickback Conspiracy

In the public relations battle following the issuance of the Yates Memo, the Justice Department can now cite one example for the new policy – the recent arrest and charging of Carl Reichel, former President of Warner Chilcott. The Justice Department’s new policy got off to a rocky start: in the same week that the Yates memorandum was adopted, the government announced the GM settlement...

General

2 Nov, 2015

Culture Caution: Should You Accept a New Job as a CCO at a Company?

Before a Chief Compliance Officer accepts a new position with a company, a potential CCO should conduct his/her own “due diligence” of the prospective employer. A company without a corporate culture of ethics and compliance can pose serious challenges for CCOs seeking to implement an effective ethics and compliance program. In the absence of a real commitment from the board and the CEO, a CCO...

General

1 Nov, 2015

Reinvigorating Corporate Board Governance to Embed a Culture of Ethics and Compliance

“It is Time” – Rafiki, The Lion King Corporate scandals continue to rack up – I am not just blowing smoke on this fact. Corporate boards are under greater scrutiny but the hardest place to bring reform is the corporate boardroom. Old institutions do not change quickly and there is an inherent resistance to change when it comes to a corporate boardroom. The old dynamic...