Kazakhstan is the most economically prosperous of the former Soviet Republics. Along with economic growth, however, has come significant corruption. Much of Kazakhstan’s growth has been due to its vast supply of natural resources, especially oil. The Kazakhstan government has kept tight control of the oil supply and government officials have benefited from its enormous oil wealth. Kazakhstan is ranked the same as Russia —...
Companies which fall under the enforcement axe usually learn from their mistakes. All it takes for most companies is the scrutiny of the federal government and then companies react with the motto – “never again!” But what happens if such change does not occur, or for some reason, you company is investigated again. The oil industry has experienced that in the FCPA arena. As a...
AML compliance is filled with fascinating issues, lots of acronyms, and plenty of common sense. One of my favorite areas is KYC (which I originally thought stood for KFC – Kentucky Fried Chicken), or Know Your Customer. KYC is a critical area for every financial institution. Due diligence kicks in depending on initial information collected on specific customers. It is a rapid fire due diligence...
Sometimes what we think is obvious is really not so obvious. Sometimes bold conclusions mask nuances or difficult issues. To my surprise, the economic literature surrounding the impact of corruption on economic development is not as clear-cut as everyone thinks. No one argues that corruption is good for a country – the debate among economists (who have a penchant to argue about anything and everything)...
Pharmaceutical and medical device companies have a raw deal when it comes to domestic and foreign bribery. On the domestic front, they have to comply with the Anti-Kickback and Stark laws. In the international sphere, they have to worry about the FCPA. They are heavily regulated in the US and overseas. As a result, compliance can be a challenge. The domestic anti-bribery statute does not...
We have a guest post today from Jim Boeckman, focusing on compliance lessons from the recent Tiger Woods rule controversy. Jim is a business lawyer in Austin, Texas, who works with small and mid-sized companies, and can be reached at [email protected]. With the 113th U.S. Open at the historic Merion Golf Club close at hand, I thought it might be interesting for those who are...
I had the honor of participating in a recent Rand Symposium which was organized by Dr. Michael Greenberg, RAND Corporation, Director, Center for Corporate Ethics and Governance (profile here), and Donna Boehme, Principal, Compliance Strategists LLC (profile here), and brought together a brilliant cross-section of experts, including corporate directors, general counsel, chief compliance officers, and governance and compliance practitioners. The focus of this year’s RAND...
The recent prosecution of two registered broker-dealers and a Venezuelan government official for FCPA violations underscores a point I often make – nothing good ever happens when the government has a reason to look around in your business. Whether it is to inspect for safety violations or any other regulatory regime, companies run the risk that the government will find something they do not like...
With the political forces aligned to fight corruption, Russia may be finally making a serious and sincere effort to address corruption in Russian society. Do not get me wrong – Russia has a long way to go and there are a lot of cracks in the system. Corruption will always be an issue which Russia fights. In the absence of an independent judiciary and media,...
My heritage is Russian; I know how Russians think and what makes them tick. Like its literary history, Russians are complex. If you try to generalize, or underestimate them, they will make mincemeat out of you. Businesses which are interested in entering Russia face a difficult environment, with huge upside potential and equal amounts of risks. The political atmosphere in Russia is shifting. Politics surrounding...
