Let’s move beyond the headline – trade compliance is the new FCPA. We get it. The next step is to do something about it. The Justice Department has repeated this refrain – it is one of its greatest hits. In addition, DOJ, OFAC and the Bureau of Industry and Security have sent a loud message — $629 million from British American Tobacco and $300 million...
To restate the obvious – DOJ has prioritized prosecution of national security crimes. For the business world, every company touches the international economy. Even a domestic company might sell products or services outside the United States, or such companies depend on foreign products or services in their supply chain. It is rare indeed to find a company that is not dependent on one way or...
The cryptocurrency industry has a target on its back – and perhaps justifiably so. The SEC, CFTC and OFAC have been bringing a number of regulatory enforcement actions, including against Bittrex, Inc. ($24,280,829.20 in settlements with OFAC and FinCEN) and Payward, Inc. d/b/a Kraken ($362,158 settlement with OFAC). Yet, the cryptocurrency has lots to worry about when it comes to compliance – fraud, cybersecurity, and...
Jessica Sanderson, a Partner at The Volkov Law Group, re-joins us for a posting on her perspective on proactive compliance strategies. Jessica can be reached at [email protected]. I’m old enough to remember when seat belts were optional. And I remember people up in arms when seatbelt laws first passed. But now, my young adult children and their friends simply get in the car and buckle...
Franks International (“Frank’s”) settled FCPA charges with the SEC for $8 million stemming from operations in Angola during the period 2008 to 2014. The Justice Department declined to prosecute Frank’s for the same events. Frank’s was a global provider of engineered tubular services, tubular fabrication, and specialty well construction and well intervention solutions to the oil and gas industry, incorporated in the Netherlands. On October...
Companies have to demand a new focus from their CEOs, senior executives and legal compliance team in response to the new DOJ and regulatory initiatives. These steps are not just suggestions nor items that can be prioritized based on resources. Instead, these are essential and basic requirements that will inevitably result in significant benefits across the company. Step 1: Define, Embed and Monitor Corporate Culture...
We are living in a rapidly changing economic landscape. Companies are under the gun to navigate “traditional issues,” such as challenging economic conditions ranging from inflation, and a predicted recession, to supply chain disruptions. It has been a long and difficult path in responding to two significant crises – first the pandemic in 2020 and then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting global sanctions...
The Justice Department warned companies that sanctions enforcement is the “new FCPA.” Recently, DOJ delivered its first salvo to back up its message. As part of a broad effort to prosecute funding of North Korea’s nuclear program, DOJ and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced a joint settlement with British American Tobacco and its Asian marketing subsidiary (“BAT”), under which BAT agreed to...
The cryptocurrency industry has a target on its back – and perhaps justifiably so. The SEC, CFTC and OFAC have been bringing a number of regulatory enforcement actions, including against Bittrex, Inc. ($24,280,829.20 in settlements with OFAC and FinCEN) and Payward, Inc. d/b/a Kraken ($362,158 settlement with OFAC). Yet, the cryptocurrency has lots to worry about when it comes to compliance – fraud, cybersecurity, and...
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has suffered setbacks in its precedent-setting criminal prosecution of no-poach agreements in labor markets. The latest and perhaps most surprising defeat occurred when the trial judge in Connecticut granted the defense motion for judgment of acquittal after the Antitrust Division prosecutors completed the government’s case. In a written decision, the court granted the defense’s motions for judgement of acquittal,...
