Corruption, Crime & Compliance

Featured Articles:

15 Jun, 2021

1 MDB Corruption Scandal Ripples with Superseding Indictment of Jho Low and Former Rapper “Pras’ Michael for Back-Channel Attempt to Close 1MDB Prosecution

The scandal emanating from the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad fund (1MDB) continues to ripple through criminal law enforcement and criminal prosecutions. Just to remind everyone, last year’s most significant FCPA enforcement case resulted in a $3 billion settlement with the Justice Department, the SEC and other agencies. Tim Leissner, the former Goldman Sachs Southeast Asia Chairman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to money laundering and FCPA...

General

14 Jun, 2021

Should CCOs Take Responsibility for the “New” ESG Function?

Forgive me for going out on a limb here. But this issue is fairly obvious. A simple question: Should the Chief Compliance Officer be responsible for the Environmental, Social and Governance function? I have to set it up this way to give the dogmatic, binary, yes or no, answer, and then continue to outline a more nuanced discussion of the relationship between CCO and the...

Podcasts

13 Jun, 2021

Episode 198 — The Biden Administration Announces Anti-Corruption Battle as a National Security Interest

In a far-reaching action, the Biden Administration elevated the global fight against corruption as a national security interest. In an Executive Memorandum, the Biden Administration made a strong statement against corruption, citing the devastating impact that corruption has on democratic institutions, democratic governments, economic development, and other public interest objectives. The Administration launched a robust inter-agency review of the anti-corruption battle, including increased international cooperation,...

General

10 Jun, 2021

LRN’s 2021 Ethics and Compliance Report — the Impact of COVID-19

LRN’s annual Ethics and Compliance Program Effectiveness Report is an important yearly event. The report is often filled with important trends and observations. For compliance officers, there is always important trends and information to review. As we know, however, 2021 was no ordinary year. Instead, for many companies, the challenges of COVID-19 split the year into two – and LRN has followed suit. Its first...

General

10 Jun, 2021

NAVEX Global Incident Management Study Confirms Impact of COVID-19 on Employee Reporting

NAVEX Global produces a number of important compliance program reports. NAVEX Global always has played an important thought-leadership role in the ethics and compliance field. NAVEX Global’s annual Incident Management Benchmark Report provides important data on employee engagement and reporting. A copy of the Report can be downloaded here. The Report is based on NAVEX Global’s massive incident reporting database connected to its hotline reporting...

General

9 Jun, 2021

Cyber Incidents Underscore Absence of Real Private Sector Cybersecurity Standards

Sometimes it takes a public event to remind corporate risk managers about the importance of effective risk management. While corporate risk management functions have become yet another “hot” topic or new-fangled response to corporate failures to prevent obvious risk, most organizations continue to wander in the world of reactive business planning rather than proactive prevention. It has been fairly obvious for years that most corporate...

General

8 Jun, 2021

The SEC’s Push on ESG Disclosure Regulations

Corporations are holding their respective breaths. SEC Chairperson Gary Gensler and his SEC colleagues are moving quickly to establish a regulatory framework for ESG disclosures. Climate change and diversity are the key issues surrounding this disclosure regime. The SEC initiative is easier said than done and presents a number of interesting issues that will have to be resolved. The SEC has invited comments on climate...

General

7 Jun, 2021

DOJ Indicts Two Former Diplomats from Chad for Taking a $2 Million Bribe

Over the last ten years, we have seen a steady increase in the coordination and cooperation among international prosecutors and law enforcement to prosecute bribery cases. In a recent example, the Justice Department unsealed criminal charges against two former diplomats from Chad for taking a $2 million bribe from Griffiths Energy International, Inc., a Canadian energy company. The indictment was originally returned in 2019 and...

Podcasts

6 Jun, 2021

Episode 197 — Review of LRN and NAVEX Global Compliance Surveys and Reports

LRN and NAVEX Global release two important annual surveys. LRN issues a yearly report on ethics and compliance program effectiveness. NAVEX Global issues an important annual report on incident management trends based on its large database of hotline data. In this Episode, Michael Volkov review these two reports and the important ethics and compliance trends.

General

3 Jun, 2021

Julius Baer Bank Resolves Money Laundering Charges in FIFA Scandal and Pays Nearly $80 Million

The Justice Department continues to pile up victories out of the world soccer FIFA federation bribery scandal. Julius Baer Group, the Swiss banker, agreed to a three-year, deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and to pay nearly $80 million to resolve money laundering charges. Julius Baer laundered approximately $36 million in bribes between February 2013 and May 2015 in which sports marketing companies bribed soccer officials for...