Webinar: Speak Up – How to Foster a Culture of Compliance September 17, 2020, 12 PM EST Sign Up Here. A Speak Up culture empowers everyone in the organization to be the “eyes and ears” of compliance, communicating important information on potential problems before they spiral out of control. This type of culture is an integral part of a best-in-class compliance program, however creating it...

Jessica Sanderson, Partner at the Volkov Law Group rejoins us for a posting on the Herbalife FCPA settlement and lessons learned. Jessica can be reached at [email protected]. As we look past the Herbalife FCPA settlement with DOJ and the SEC for $123 million to resolve FCPA bribery and books and records violations, we are reminded of the variety of foreign government touchpoints and FCPA risks. ...

DOJ’s Antitrust Division is increasing criminal antitrust enforcement.  After two relatively slow years of criminal enforcement, the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program is steadily increasing.  The next five years promises to be a time of aggressive criminal cartel enforcement. DOJ’s Antitrust Division has been racking up indictments and guilty pleas in a long-time cartel operating in the commercial flooring and services industry in the Chicago...

Criminal investigations and enforcement programs ebb and flow – not necessarily because of a lack of initiative or some intentional slowdown.  Cases take time to investigate and prosecute.  The Antitrust Division’s Criminal Enforcement program has always been consistent and successful, fueled by the corporate leniency program instituted in the 1990s and tweaked over the last 25 years.  In the last few years, DOJ’s Cartel Enforcement...

From everyone at The Volkov Law Group, we wish our clients, colleagues, friends and family a Happy Labor Day. To everyone, we thank you for your contributions to our economy and the care of everyone in our country and around the globe. We specifically want to thank our first responders, healthcare workers, volunteers and all those working to keep everyone safe and healthy.

In a surprise indictment, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced that Steve Bannon, Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea were indicted for defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors in response to the “We Build The Wall” online fundraising campaign.  The indictment charges the defendants in defrauding donors from more than $25 million. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews...

I often remind readers – government prosecutors regularly tell you what they  plan to do in advance, and then they do it.  So do not be surprised when the government does something they told you they would do. In May 2019, OFAC issued its Framework for Sanctions Compliance Commitments.  As part of its Guidance. OFAC noted that it intended to increase enforcement actions against individual...

Herbalife’s FCPA settlement is another one for books – the wreckage left includes two criminal indictments for Chinese officials who may never be apprehended, along with $123 million in penalties.  When going through the wreckage, there are serious issues of corporate failures at senior levels of the company along with pervasive and systemic misconduct in China.  What is surprising is the obvious red flags of...

Herbalife’s bribery scheme in China stretched across the 28 provinces of China and even involved an Herbalife senior executive in its headquarters in Los Angeles, California.  DOJ has indicted Yangling Li, aka Jerry Li, and Hongwei Yang, aka Mary Yang, two Chinese nationals who carried out the scheme. The Statement of Facts provides some important details about the scheme.  Herbalife’s business in China depended on...

DOJ and the SEC settled their long-pending FCPA investigation of Herbalife Nutrition Ltd (“Herbalife”).  Herbalife entered into a 3-year deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) with DOJ and an administrative order with the SEC, and agreed to pay $55 million in criminal penalties and $67 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest to the SEC.  In light of the criminal penalties, the SEC declined to impose any civil...