Featured Articles:

Chief Compliance Officers: Under the Microscope

As a profession, Chief Compliance Officers have to be aware of the old adage – “Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.”  Whoever crafted that saying, it applies right now to CCOs. As more CCOs are given the “opportunity” to run a compliance program with the resources they request and the authority they need, all eyes will be on their performance. ...

The Government’s Unrelenting Reliance on Anti-Kickback Prosecutions

Below the radar screen of aggressive FCPA enforcement, US Attorneys, HHS-OIG and State Attorney Generals are pushing an aggressive agenda using federal and state anti-kickback laws.  It is hard to keep it all in perspective but for companies falling under the federal healthcare system it is a constant worry. The AKS was enacted in 1972, and since then, it has been used to prosecute health...

Anti-Corruption Compliance: Enhanced Elements Become the New Norm

The Department of Justice and the SEC have had a profound effect on corporate compliance programs.  That is an understatement. Prior to the reinvigorated FCPA enforcement program, corporate compliance programs were relatively modest in scope.  Sarbanes-Oxley resulted in reforms and controls designed to improve financial reporting. DOJ’s aggressive FCPA enforcement program has catapulted compliance to a significant priority. In many respects, companies are still scrambling...

DOJ and SEC Award Significant Credit for Remediation During Investigation

The Justice Department and the SEC have consistently preached the importance of remediation – that is, efforts by companies to address compliance deficiencies during the pendency of an investigation. In 2013, DOJ and SEC delivered significant benefits to companies for companies that made significant changes during an investigation.  The two most significant examples of such remediation were the Parker Drilling and Weatherford cases. Both companies...

Follow the Bouncing Ball – Tracking DOJ Investigations

Looking back on 2013, the Department of Justice and SEC had a strong enforcement year.  It is interesting to analyze how prosecutors exercised their discretion – what industries were subjects of FCPA investigations?  How did the company come to the attention of the DOJ and SEC? There is no question that most subjects of FCPA investigations are “discovered” through the voluntary disclosure process.  Companies continue...

Network Webinar: Navigating the Waters of Anti-Corruption Compliance in China

Network Webinar, February 4, 2014, 1 PM EST Navigating the Waters of Anti-Corruption Compliance in China Register HERE China is a country with great economic opportunities but significant compliance risks. Did you know that Chinese anti-corruption enforcement against multi-national companies often focuses on improper payments and gifts to Chinese government officials? In the past year, Chinese authorities initiated aggressive corruption enforcement actions against multinational companies,...

The Relationship Between Sarbanes-Oxley and FCPA Compliance

Ten years ago, Sarbanes-Oxley was the focus of compliance and corporate governance reform.  Sarbanes-Oxley was enacted in response to major corporate scandals involving financial reporting fraud and accounting misrepresentations. Sarbanes-Oxley resulted in major corporate reforms of the auditing process, and corporate oversight of the financial and auditing process. For FCPA purposes, Sarbanes-Oxley is an important component in corporate decisions to disclose potential FCPA violations to...

Books and Records Flexes its Muscles

FCPA practitioners pick through the pages and words underlying FCPA enforcement actions to look for clues, for new policies and government strategies.  It is a worthwhile process – the government sends important messages in its enforcement actions, ranging from cooperation credit, all the way to state-of-art compliance policies and procedures.  In many cases, a new trend can turn into an established practice in the matter...

Here We Come . . . Walking Down [Wall Street] – More “Aggressive” AML Enforcement on the Horizon

I always say that the government does not enforce the laws in secret – they tell business what they plan to do and then they carry it out.  The announcement of an enforcement initiative is always followed by a series of press conferences announcing prosecutions under the initiative.  The examples of this include FCPA, healthcare fraud, export violations, gun violence, and on and on throughout...