Just a reminder that my book is still available on Amazon!!! My mentor and friend, Judge Stanley Sporkin, the ‘father of the FCPA,’ wrote the foreword. “Michael Volkov’s book is a compilation of articles on a number of subjects important to advising clients how to stay out of trouble. He is a prolific writer and I can say without question, we have not heard the last...
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The UK’s Financial Services Authority has sent a warning shot to investment banks – big and small. In a blistering report, the FSA outlined a number of deficiencies in ABC compliance by investment banks. Given the close working relationship between the US and UK, the Justice Department and the SEC are sure to take note of this report and incorporate it into their ongoing ABC...
The SEC’s long and tortured Theodore Urban case finally came to an end when the Commission reversed the ALJ’s decision and dismissed the case. Since the case was brought, the SEC has made public statements to try and clarify how it intends to enforce supervisor liability. Recently, SEC Commissioner David Gallagher explained “ if a firm employee in a traditionally non-supervisory role has expertise relevant...
Everyone likes to focus on how to conduct an internal investigation. In the face of the new SEC whistleblower law and regulations, companies need to design a system to assess and respond to an initial allegation of a corruption violation. Not all complaints are equal – indeed, most allegations have little merit. But occasionally a complaint can be significant and uncover a significant potential violation....
Some industries have dodged anti-corruption industry sweeps. So far, the industry sweeps have focused on logistics, oil, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The logistics industry has been a fertile source for other industries for obvious reasons – they deal with a variety of industries. The auto industry has escaped a sweep. That is likely to change. A global antitrust cartel investigation has focused on auto parts...
If your company does business in China, you need to conduct an anti-corruption audit. No ifs, ands or buts — and I am not one who would easily make this recommendation. But the picture in China is growing worse by the day. If you follow the mounting number of disclosures, the pattern is unmistakable. Companies that operate in China are reporting more and more FCPA...
The FCPA paparazzi is at it again — overreacting to the recent DOJ setbacks in several high-profile FCPA prosecutions. Will these setbacks cause the Justice Department to alter its FCPA enforcement program. No way. Everyone is dreaming. Call it wishful thinking. What will the Justice Department do in reaction to the recent collapse of the Africa Sting cases, the O’Shea case and the Lindsey Manufacturing case? ...
The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission continue to focus on the gatekeepers — in-house counsel, internal auditors and compliance officers. Underlying this strategy is the government’s desire to convert these officials into government”agents” to report suspected violations of the law. The government does not have a healthy respect for the attorney-client privilege. To the contrary, the government regularly argues that corporate actors have a...
Many FCPA practitioners have predicted FCPA enforcement actions in the private equity industry. This has been long-predicted and many say, long overdue. Anti-corruption enforcement against the private equity industry has to be considered in the context of the SEC’s focus on the private equity industry. The SEC has sent the private equity industry a wake up call and one thing is for sure – the...
