Friday, August 12, 2011 came and went. The world did not explode, the economy is still running, companies are still standing and life went on. The SEC officially opened the doors for its new Whistleblower Office. As far as we know, there was not a line of whistleblowers standing outside the office waiting to file complaints. Surprisingly, the SEC disclosed that there are 20 pending...

Everyone’s 2011 predictions for FCPA enforcement have turned out to be wrong.   It is obvious that 2011 will go down as the year of the FCPA trial.  The previous year, 2010, was the year of record settlements, most of which involved non-US companies, and exceeded $1 billion.  In 2011, the Justice Department’s FCPA resources have been stretched by trials — the DC Sting, Lindsey, Carson,...

With all the writing and blog space filled with anti-corruption focus, companies need to take a deep breath and prioritize their compliance efforts.  Anti-corruption, antitrust and export controls remain at the top of the list.  But companies need to add insider trading compliance programs. The recent high-profile investigations and prosecutions stand as a constant reminder for companies.  The SEC and DOJ have shown they are willing...

Companies who have expanded into China need to be careful.  Call this a profound grasp of the obvious, but the risk of corruption enforcement in China is rapidly increasing, and in the near future could become even more aggressive. The United States and the Chinese governments are working closely together to coordinate anti-bribery enforcement.  The implications of this are far-reaching.  US Representatives from the State, Commerce and...

The link between corruption and human rights is growing stronger.  International organizations have been arguing for years that the causal connections between corruption and human rights abuses are clear. In developing nations and in particular failed states, corruption undermines human rights.  Some argue that the focus of anti-corruption efforts is to ensure that developing countries do not welcome terrorist organizations.  Both positions are correct —...

The government loves to visit subjects and targets of its investigations.  Why?  They get access to individuals and information without counsel’s presence and the ability to ask questions and learn new information. In today’s environment, every company should be prepared.  Every possible occurrence should be anticipated.  The government may approach executives and officers at their home for a 730 am chat, may serve a grand...

The dangers of corruption extend into countries in the Middle East. Everyone likes to talk about Brazil, Russia, India and China, but the Middle east raises real corruption risks, and that risk is growing every day. Everyone likes to think that the events of the Spring with increased desires for democracy would reduce the risk of corruption but there is no evidence that has occurred....

Howard Sklar Last year, the U.S. government imposed record penalties of nearly $2 billion in the FCPA and $1 billion in various penalties for U.S. sanctions and export controls. In some cases, these violations “converged” – meaning they arose from similar deficiencies in a company’s compliance program. For those companies that engage in international business, they need to focus on the FCPA’s prohibitions on the...

It is unfortunate but true – compliance actors in a company can sometimes engage in internal turf battles which undermine overall compliance efforts. Every organization suffers from internal inefficiencies caused by personalities, protecting spheres of influence and sometimes, even organizational insecurities. Without trying to insult general counsels and even compliance officers, the internal auditor in a company is uniquely positioned to identify corruption risks. All...

In the aftermath of the debt ceiling fiasco, Congress’ reputation took another blow in the court of public opinion. Even before the debt ceiling brinkmanship, Congress’ record on ethics was getting trampled through the mud yet again. Washington is a city filled with double standards and perhaps there is no better one when you compare the new and aggressive enforcement policies which have been launched...