The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act amended the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by including a new provision requiring companies filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to disclose whether their products use conflict minerals. The Act defines such conflict minerals as “columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, gold, wolframite or their derivatives” and other minerals determined by the US Secretary of State...
In the last few years, lawyers, acountants and other professionals have been beating the drum of aggressive enforcement of the FCPA (and the UK Bribery Act). There is no question that enforcement of anti-corruption laws around the globe has increased. The risk to companies and individuals has increased. But companies and individuals need to be realistic as to the real risks. As everyone knows, the...
The US Attorney from the Southern District of New York announced the unsealing of a major indictment against the founders of the three largest online poker sites — PokerStars, Absolute Poker and Full Tilt. A copy of the press release is attached HERE. The indictment charges the defendants with conspiracy to violate the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act which prohibits processing of transactions related to...
In-House counsel and corporate compliance officers dodge bullets everyday as they stare down the barrels of aggressive prosecutors, regulators, civil litigants, whistleblowers, disgruntled employees and shareholders prodded by trial attorneys to file derivative suits at the drop of a hat. In the face of all of these risks, internal investigations have become commonplace and a standard defensive tactic for a company to regain some leverage,...
The Obama Administration is committed to increasing criminal enforcement of environmental laws. To that end, the EPA is bringing on fifty additional criminal investigators, bringing the total number of investigators to over two hundred. With these new resources, and a strategic plan focusing on the full range of environmental crimes, corporations and individuals should place a renewed focus on environmental compliance. FY 2010 saw an...
The Obama Administration is committed to increasing criminal enforcement of environmental laws. To that end, the EPA is bringing on fifty additional criminal investigators, bringing the total number of investigators to over two hundred. With these new resources, and a strategic plan focusing on the full range of environmental crimes, corporations and individuals should place a renewed focus on environmental compliance. FY 2010 saw an...
To most it is an obvious point: The purview of criminal law should cover criminal conduct. Yet that point maybe lost on some since, as Chief Judge Alex Kozinski points out, United States v. Goyal, No. 08-10436 (9th Cir. Dec. 10, 2010) is just the latest in a “string of recent cases in which courts have found that federal prosecutors overreached by trying to stretch...
To most it is an obvious point: The purview of criminal law should cover criminal conduct. Yet that point maybe lost on some since, as Chief Judge Alex Kozinski points out, United States v. Goyal, No. 08-10436 (9th Cir. Dec. 10, 2010) is just the latest in a “string of recent cases in which courts have found that federal prosecutors overreached by trying to stretch...
Mark Twain observed correctly about lawyers: “Lawyers are like other people–fools on the average; but it is easier for an ass to succeed in that trade than any other.” When it comes to advising clients in the area of the FCPA and Bribery Act, counseling attorneys are critical players. We play an important role in the end in making sure a company complies with the...
The World Bank said Wednesday it had blacklisted 45 more companies and individuals last year afor corruption activities. For the year, the World Bank initiated 117 investigations last year which resulted in 45 debarments of firms and individuals “for engaging in wrongdoing.” Under a cross-debarment pact signed last year, firms debarred by the World Bank are also automatically denied contracting opportunities at other multilateral development...
