I would like to welcome three new sponsors to Corruption Crime & Compliance.  Each has unique capabilities in the compliance industry. Berkeley Research Group is one of the fastest growing and dynamic new consulting firms which provides forensic accounting, forensic investigation, strategic advisory and corporate intelligence services.  BRG announced yesterday the addition of former SEC Inspector General David Kotz to its anti-corruption team.  Please check out...

“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.” – Mark Twain Mark Twain’s quotes are timeless – his keen observations apply today just as they did years ago.  A compliance program depends on rational decisions.  Stupid decisions will undermine compliance. The key to compliance is identifying and analyzing issues, weighing risks, and making rational...

Corporate governance is the most important predictor of compliance.  This may sound obvious but corporate boards move slowly.  In many cases, corporate boards move way too slowly.  Corporate failures usually rest on missteps and omissions by corporate leaders.  It is a rare case for a company to have a board that is forward-looking and in front of the curve. In the last ten years, there...

Join us for a Free Webinar:   Health Care Fraud Enforcement Trends and Compliance August 22, 2012, at 12 to 1 pm SIGN UP HERE Health care providers, insurance companies and pharmaceutical and medical device companies face unprecedented risks of civil and criminal enforcement. The Justice Department’s Health Care Fraud initiative, which primarily focuses on Medicare and Medicaid fraud and Off-Label marketing cases, is one of...

It would be interesting to study how companies respond to FCPA violations.  A study on when all the dust settles — after the company discloses FCPA violations, conducts an internal investigation, confirms improper payments, fires those employees responsible, settles with the government and pays a fine – would be particularly interesting. When all the dust settles, what changes, if any, occur at the corporate board...

The Justice Department always touts its FCPA, Criminal Antitrust and Health Care Fraud enforcement programs.  It is very proud of its record in these areas.  But quietly and methodically the Justice Department has ramped up, with little fanfare, its export control and sanctions enforcement program.  For the first half of this year, while attorneys, client alerts, and marketing pitches continue to focus on FCPA enforcement,...

I have had more than one corporate general counsel tell me that anti-corruption compliance is not very effective in protecting against foreign bribery.  Their argument is that a company’s compliance program boils down to the behavior of individual employees.  An employee will either decide to violate the law or comply with the law; the company’s compliance program has no influence on this decision.  According to...

The SEC is not a shrinking violet.  When it comes to FCPA enforcement, some focus more on the Justice Department – and given its criminal enforcement mission that is understandable.  But the SEC has a strong enforcement role to play, and in the last year or so, it has been flexing its enforcement muscle.  It is an important trend and one that is expected to...

A recent survey found that close to half of all responding companies had established or increased anti-corruption compliance.  That is a very positive response to increased FCPA enforcement.  It is time and money well spent.  Increased compliance reduces risk. Companies have to be realistic about the enforcement risks.  Most (if not all) major enforcement actions involve situations where there is a “systematic” breakdown in compliance. ...

One tricky issue at the beginning of every internal investigation is determining whether the government is investigating the same issue. If the government is conducting its own investigation, tricky issues can come up about informing employees that government investigators may contact them. As part of its war on white collar criminals, the government is employing tactics typically reserved for narcotics trafficking organizations and organized crime....