Unlike anti-corruption compliance, companies have long had antitrust compliance programs. It has long been recognized that collusion between and among companies on prices, territories, and other market factors has a negative impact on consumers. A price-fixing conspiracy which results in a modest price increase in popular products can quickly add up to billions of dollars in damages, far outpacing some of the largest fraud schemes...
Brazil is the seventh largest economy in the world. It has a booming economy and is attracting increased foreign investment. With the World Cup scheduled in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, Brazil’s profile is expected to rise even higher. Brazil is the largest recipient of foreign capital in Latin America. Brazil continues to suffer from the reality of corruption. Brazil ranks 73 out of...
In the aftermath of the Standard Chartered settlement for sanctions violations involving processing of financial transactions with Iran in violation of the Iran sanctions, more banks are falling under scrutiny for violating sanctions restrictions. I hate to say “I told you so,” but I told you so. The Obama Administration has implemented a large number of sanctions as part of its foreign policy. At the...
Everyone gets tired of the phrase “Follow the Money.” The origin of the statement is supposedly from Deep Throat to Woodward and Bernstein during the Watergate investigation. (As an aside, recent Watergate books have called into question how much information Deep Throat (Mark Feld from the FBI) really had and how much he really gave to Woodward and Bernstein but that is another story ....
Like other major financial controversies, the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) case is spawning private litigation in the United States. The dangers of an antitrust violation include treble damages in private suits brought by persons directly harmed by an antitrust violation. Expensive class actions follow antitrust violations. The implications of private LIBOR litigation are cataclysmic. A large number of cases already have been filed and...
I would rather have my ignorance than another man’s knowledge, because I have so much more of it. – Mark Twain One should never underestimate the power of inertia. Corporate directors and senior managers sometimes cling to inertia in the hope that potential problems will disappear or fade into the sunset. Differences in corporate responses often reflect corporate governance strategies and practices. Foreign companies, which...
The Justice Department is planning to issue its long-awaited FCPA Guidance before October 10, 2012. I am sure that DOJ’s Guidance will provide plenty of issues for analysis. While it is certainly a welcome action, I am sure the critics will continue their carping. FCPA critics will not be happy until the FCPA is eviscerated. Meanwhile, the Justice Department has continued to settle cases and...
We all remember the childhood game of Twenty Questions – the object of the game was to guess the person, place or object which the other person had in mind. In keeping with that spirit, I thought I would put together Twenty Questions with a similar objective – to try and capture the state of mind of the company employee who is seeking approval for...
The Justice Department has been criticized for its reliance on Deferred Prosecution Agreements and Non-Prosecution Agreements. The FCPA Professor has lead the charge on this concern. The Justice Department relies on DPAs and NPAs to avoid the so-called corporate death penalty, a reference to the Arthur Andersen case in 2003, which resulted in the demise of Arthur Andersen and the loss of thousands of jobs....
Sometimes compliance issues are easy – or as I like to say, sometimes I have a profound grasp of the obvious. This posting is another in the continuing series of obvious points. Corporate governance and compliance have become cottage industries. In many cases, the issues are not so difficult to address. In fact, in some cases, common sense is all that is needed. Yogi Berra...
