Corruption, Crime & Compliance

Featured Articles:

5 Jun, 2023

Episode 277 — The Murad OFAC Settlement and Sanctions Compliance Lessons

Over an eight-year period ending in 2018, Murad, a U.S. cosmetics company, illegally exported goods and services to Iran in 62 separate transactions worth approximately $11 million. Murad was acquired by Unilever United States (“Unilever”) in 2015. Once discovered, Unilever voluntarily disclosed the conduct to OFAC. The fallout from Murad’s long-running conspiracy: Unilever paid $3.3 million to OFAC for its Iran Sanctions violations. Interestingly, OFAC...

General

31 May, 2023

Ransomware Criminal Prosecution of Russian National Underscores Pervasive Ransomware Risks

In today’s world of cyber threats, many companies have fallen victim to ransomware attacks. Corporate boards and senior executives face serious issues when their companies are attacked. The payment of ransom is not only costly, but presents significant ethics and compliance issues. Many companies often conduct ransomware exercises to develop common scenarios and potential responses. It is an issue worthy of board, senior management and...

General

31 May, 2023

Murad Pays OFAC $3.3 Million for Iran Sanctions Violations; Former Senior Executive Pays $175k

General

30 May, 2023

Gartner Settles FCPA Case with SEC for $2.5 Million

The SEC has been racking up several FCPA enforcement actions. DOJ appears to be declining many of these cases. The division of enforcement appeared to follow a pattern – on larger cases with more pervasive violations, DOJ and the SEC would each bring an enforcement action; while on relatively “smaller” cases, the SEC would bring a case and the DOJ would decline to prosecute. This...

Podcasts

29 May, 2023

Episode 276 — Review of Philips and Franks Int’l SEC FCPA Enforcement Actions

The SEC recently announced two separate FCPA SEC enforcement actions — the first against Franks International for $8 million for FCPA violations in Angola; and the second against Philips, a Dutch medical device company, for $62 million for FCPA violations in China. The SEC settlement actions underscored important bribery risks in Angola and China. Philips’ recent settlement is its second in the last ten years. ...

General

29 May, 2023

Memorial Day: A Day for Honor

Thank you to the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice. We honor their service, their courage, and their memories. Let us use this holiday to remind us all of our heroes and to honer them for their service.

General

24 May, 2023

TD Bank Eats $225 Million Termination Fee After AML Failures Doom Merger

Sam Finkelstein, an Associate at The Volkov Law Group, joins us for his first posting about TD Bank’s compliance failures. Sam can be reached at [email protected]. How much is an effective Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) Compliance Program Worth? For Toronto-Dominion Bank (“TD”), the answer is at least $225 million––the amount that TD must now pay to First Horizon Bank, after backing out of a proposed $13.4...

General

24 May, 2023

DOJ’s Enforcement and Compliance Changes: Weighing the Pros and Cons of Voluntary Disclosures

The Justice Department certainly has altered the landscape of enforcement, compliance priorities, and ultimately corporate decisions surrounding voluntary disclosure. It has become a little bit more complicated to sort out all the carrots and sticks. One thing is clear – DOJ wants more companies to voluntarily disclose misconduct. And that is understandable. DOJ does not want companies to wait until they receive a grand jury...

General

23 May, 2023

Koninklijke Philips Pays SEC $62 Million to Resolve FCPA Violations in China

After a long-running investigation, Koninklijke Philips (“Philips), a Dutch company, resolved FCPA violations in China by agreeing to pay the SEC $62 million. Philips is a global manufacturer of medical equipment. Philips agreed to pay $15 million in civil penalties and more than $47 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest. According to Philips, DOJ has declined to prosecute charges in the current case. Philips’ recent...

Podcasts

22 May, 2023

Episode 275 — Five Steps to Enhance Your Sanctions Compliance Program

Even with the current focus on sanctions compliance, many companies have done little to assess and enhance their existing sanctions compliance program. Instead, companies have stitched together a basic sanctions compliance program that centers on a screening tool and little beyond that. Such a limited program provides just a false comfort of compliance. Many companies are not even conducting the mandated basic requirement of annual...