FCPA commentators frequently characterize the Department of Justice as the investigator, prosecutor, judge and jury when it comes to corporate FCPA investigations and settlements.  Given the fact that few corporations, if any, are willing to take a criminal FCPA case to trial, companies often have only one chance to argue and vindicate their interests – at the Department of Justice. The role of federal judges...

When you get older, you realize that the so-called “mysteries of life” or institutions which you viewed with admiration from afar are really not as complex as you think.  I would never call this cynicism.  With age you recognize that a lot of things that occur in life are the result of nothing more than just good old fashioned people skills. How does this apply...

When first conceived, the World Bank’s comprehensive sanctions and debarment program was seen as a significant milestone in the fight against fraudulent, corrupt, collusive and coercive practices on the part of contractors involved in Bank-financed projects. Collaborative relationships with global prosecutors and regulators were established. Strict penalties were put in place. There would finally be real teeth behind the Bank’s long-standing anti-corruption policies. The World...

If you had asked me ten years ago whether privacy would become the focus of government enforcement actions, I would have brushed aside the issue with a cavalier – “No Way!!”  In the aftermath of 9/11, there was always a focus on privacy concerns when it comes to government surveillance and collection.  In the last five years, we have seen a dramatic increase in privacy...

When it comes to lawyers, there is no middle ground – you either love them or you hate them.  When the government launches an FCPA investigation of a company, lawyers are drawn for two separate functions – to rescue the company from the government investigation by conducting an internal investigation and resolving the investigation through a declination or a settlement; or to sue the company...

The compliance profession is filled with optimists and unsung heroes.  Chief Compliance Officers are zealots and they believe in their mission and the righteousness of their cause.  Perhaps the most important advocate for the compliance profession has been – and will continue to be – Donna Boehme. I have had the fortunate professional experience to collaborate with Donna, to learn from Donna and to share...

It is too easy to ignore the impact that Brazil’s new anti-corruption law will have with a cynical brush of the hand in the air.  It is too easy to dismiss Brazil’s commitment to the anti-corruption movement by suggesting that it merely was in reaction to Brazil’s upcoming appearance on the world stage for the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016.  If...

What does it take for a company to embrace change?  How does change in an organization come about? Companies do not just wake up one day and embrace change.  To the contrary, companies grow into change in several different  ways – sometimes business necessity leads to change, sometimes companies proactively embrace and seek out change, and sometimes change comes from a government enforcement action. The...

It is difficult for regulators and law enforcement to keep up with creative new ways in which criminals choose to store and trade money.  This is especially true in the Internet-age where anonymity and ease of communications and transactions are available. Regulators are now wrestling with the intractable issue of virtual currencies.  Everyone has been reading about Bitcoin as the new viper of virtual currency. ...