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...
Just to make every compliance officer’s job a little bit more difficult, companies need to adopt and implement an insider trading compliance policy. The Justice Department and the SEC have made headlines through its high-profile insider trading criminal prosecutions. Underneath the radar screen, the Justice Department has been pursuing a large criminal investigation focusing on “expert networks,” in which consultants have been used, along with...
Please join me and Tom Fox for a complimentary breakfast seminar on September 25, 2012 in San Diego, California. The seminar is being sponsored by Kreller Group. Everyone who attends will receive a free copy of my book, Corruption Crime & Compliance, and Tom’s book, FCPA Compliance and Ethics. Anti-Corruption Due Diligence Workshop: Practical Steps to Protect Your Company from Third Party and Joint Venture...
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