In its first enforcement action of 2023, the Justice Department charged a Connecticut man and a foreign national with FCPA bribery and money laundering charges stemming from a bribery scheme to secure contracts with Petrobras in Brazil. Glenn Oztemel was a senior oil and gas trader at two trading companies., and Eduardo Innecco, a dual Italian and Brazilian citizen, was an oil and gas broker...
The Justice Department did not just willy-nilly announce its embrace of clawbacks and deferred payment compensation punishment as a remediation tool for companies that suffer an enforcement action and settlement. To the contrary, DOJ has been examining this issue, even citing it in important policy spheres and enforcement actions, as an important tool in its arsenal. Both the DOJ and the SEC have been weighing...
March 14, 2023 12 Noon EST SIGN UP HERE In the ever-changing global economy, and in the aftermath of the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, third-party risks continue to present significant risks and challenges. At the same time, global companies face escalating enforcement risks from the United States and foreign law enforcement. It is more important than ever for companies to embed third-party...
The Justice Department has a long-record of criminal prosecutions of companies for manufacturing food products under unsanitary conditions. In recent years, DOJ has prosecuted Blue Bell Ice Cream, Chipotle, ConAgra Grocery, Peanut Corporation of America and egg producers for production of food products that resulted in serious food borne illnesses. In a recent case, Kerry, Inc., a manufacturer of breakfast cereal for Kellogg’s Honey Smacks...
The Justice Department has taken steps to implement its new compliance compensation requirement announced in its Corporate Enforcement Policy revisions. With little fanfare, the Danske Bank $2 billion settlement with the Justice Department include an additional provision in its settlement papers outlining the new requirement. DOJ’s settlement papers include standard provisions that have grown through the years. Schedule C has set forth DOJ requirements for...
LRN continues to provide important insights and trends on the importance of ethics and compliance programs. LRN’s annual report is an important resource and needs to be reviewed by the board, senior management and all compliance-related functions. LRN’s 2023 report emphasizes the importance of commitment, investment and promotion of corporate ethics and compliance, particularly during these difficult economic and geopolitical disturbances. LRN’s report is based...
In a far-reaching decision with significant implications, the Delaware Chancery Court recently issued a decision confirming that Caremark duty of oversight obligations extends to senior officers. This will have an immediate impact on shareholder derivative risks and litigation. Companies now will face duty of oversight breach claims that include or even just focus on senior officers who have breached their fiduciary duty of oversight. Vice...
I always enjoy pulling out the crystal ball and looking forward with due consideration of last year’s trends. It is a perspective that gives us all the opportunity to identify important trends and to set an agenda for the next year – 2023. The compliance profession continues to grow in overall importance in the corporate governance landscape. Corporate leaders that fail to appreciate this face...
The SEC knows that it has powerful enforcement tools. The FCPA imposes two important requirements on issuers – keep accurate books and records and maintain internal controls to ensure that management’s accounting controls operate effectively to ensure proper use of corporate assets. The SEC knows these are broad requirements. One critical area of focus has been the SEC’s focus on contract-invoice-payment process. For compliance professionals,...
Here are some basic propositions that surround FCPA compliance. It is often underplayed that the FCPA contains more than just a bribery prohibition – the FCPA contains broad provisions, requiring accurate books and records and internal controls. When it comes to bribery, wrongdoers have to find ways to “steal” or gain unauthorized access to money often by circumventing internal controls. Thus, bribery conduct often goes...
