Microsoft’s remedial steps provide important best-practices for companies facing similar risk factors in the global economy, especially for global software companies that rely on Internet-based operations.  According to OFAC, Microsoft demonstrated a reckless disregard for U.S. sanctions by failing to identify that over a seven-year period, more than $12,000,000 worth of software and services were exported from the United States through Microsoft systems and servers...

OFAC announced only one settlement in the first three months of 2023.  Given its ongoing role in the implementation and enforcement of Russia Sanctions, OFAC’s enforcement record so far is completely understandable.  The situation changed, however, in the first week of April 2023 – OFAC announced two enforcement actions: a major action against Microsoft and another against Uphold HQ, Inc. (“Uphold”), a U.S. money service...

Wells Fargo added to its Grand Slam of Enforcement with its recent settlement of OFAC violations and paid $30 million to settle the matter. Wells Fargo’s violations occurred during a seven-year period, 2008 to 2015, and stemmed from its acquisition of Wachovia Bank.  Wells Fargo provided a foreign bank (part of predecessor Wachovia) with trade-finance software that Wachovia used to process trade financing transactions with...

The Justice Department’s recent emphasis on ethics and compliance culture, along with greater specificity on “consequence management” is a welcome breath of fresh air.  It is a policy coming for a long time and will bring about significant improvements.  Do not get me wrong – there will be bumps and bruises along the way, hurt egos and turf battles, but in the end HR and...

The Justice Department is now taking on the role of marriage counselor.  Not with individual couples, but with a critical corporate relationship – ethics and compliance and human resources.  Normally, compliance and HR is a match made in heaven.  Unfortunately, in all too many organizations, compliance and HR are having trouble getting along.  This should not be so.  HR and compliance have many joint responsibilities...

Not that I am a glutton for punishment, but I always find enforcement actions to supply a number of valuable lessons learned. There are always instructive nuggets of information, opportunities missed, and root causes that highlight important compliance messaging and principles. Wells Fargo has unintentionally provided a variety of these important lessons — not from positive behaviors but from a laundry list of violations that...

In our lifetime (however long or short), there is no way any company will ever match Wells Fargo for its record of misconduct, criminal and civil enforcement, and regulatory fines and penalties.  No one, no way. Wells Fargo added to its Grand Slam of Enforcement with its recent settlement of OFAC violations and paid $30 million to settle the matter. Wells Fargo is a one-entity...

The Justice Department is continuing its push to encourage to encourage companies to voluntarily disclose FCPA misconduct. In its latest declination, DOJ settled with Corsa Coal for its bribery scheme in Egypt. Under the declination, Corsa Coal paid $1.2 million in disgorgement and earned a significant reduction from DOJ because of its inability to pay. The SEC recently settled two separate enforcement actions, one against...

I was honored to join Susan Divers from LRN to discuss how corporate boards are facing today’s global, regulatory Issues. The Podcast is available HERE. Corporate boards are feeling more pressure than ever from a variety of stakeholders—government prosecutors and regulators, institutional investors, corporate activists, consumers, and others seeking responsible change in an ever-changing global economy. As the concept of both corporate and individual accountability...

If there ever is an example of a rotten corporate culture, Wells Fargo sits at the head of the class.  Since Wells Fargo’s sales pressure scandal, Wells Fargo has continued to suffer from a string of scandals and misconduct.  Along the way, and notwithstanding spending millions on lawyers, consultants, accountants and other professionals to fix its culture and controls, Wells Fargo still has not recovered. ...