Tagged: Department of Justice

Teva Pharmaceuticals Pays $450 Million to Resolve Anti-Kickback and False Claims Act Violations

Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. (Teva USA) and Teva Neuroscience Inc. (“Teva”) agreed to pay $450 million to resolve two matters that allege Teva violated the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the False Claims Act (FCA). Teva is the largest generic drug manufacturer in the United States. The settlement resolved two alleged kickback schemes: Medicare Cost-Sharing Scheme and Copay Assistance Foundations First, Teva has agreed to resolve...

Episode 339 — The Four Sanctions Cases that Everyone Should Know

The Justice Department has repeated on several occasions that it intends to aggressively prosecute corporations for sanctions and export controls violations.  The “New FCPA” is how the Justice Department characterizes its plan.  To execute the strategy, DOJ has assigned 25 new prosecutors.  This is the most important fact — unleashing 25 new prosecutors with the goal of bringing criminal cases against corporations and individuals will...

Tracking FCPA Individual Enforcement

While FCPA enforcement against companies has been relatively quiet this year, despite a strong beginning to the year — the SAP case for $220 million; and the Gunvor case for $661 million — DOJ has been pushing a number of individual cases, some of which appear to be flowing from ongoing corporate investigations.  DOJ is expected to announce a new, large corporate resolution for more...

Gunvor’s Blockbuster FCPA Settlement: Lessons Learned and Trends (Part III of III)

The Department of Justice’s blockbuster FCPA settlement with Gunvor restores the credibility of DOJ’s pronouncements of DOJ’s commitment to aggressive FCPA enforcement.  While I have questioned DOJ’s commitment to its corporate enforcement policy in recent high-profile settlements (ABB and SAP, in particular), DOJ’s Gunvor settlement of $661 million stands as the ninth largest FCPA settlement in history.  DOJ’s settlement is proportionate to the misconduct and...

Gunvor’s Bribery Schemes — Third-Parties, Shell Companies and Evasion of Controls (Part II of III)

Gunvor’s bribery scheme is not very surprising nor ingenious.  After all, a number of energy trading companies have been prosecuted for bribery over the years, including Glencore, Vitol, Freepoint.  Numerous individuals have been prosecuted, convicted and some have cooperated.  The global energy trading market presents numerous risk factors — large and valuable energy products (oil, gas etc.) are controlled by foreign-owned companies.  All of these...

Gunvor Falls Under FCPA Axe and Agrees to Pay Criminal Penalty of $661 Million (Part I of III)

You have to give the Justice Department credit — after two slow enforcement years, DOJ is starting off 2024 with a relative “bang;” first, DOJ reached a large settlement with SAP in January, and now, DOJ has reached a blockbuster settlement with Gunvor S.A. for $661 million. Gunvor is one of the world’s largest commodities trading companies.  DOJ’s settlement represents a “return” to its long-standing...

Episode 311: Tom Fox on FCPA Enforcement — DOJ’s Approach to Recidivism and Self-Disclosure

In this special episode of Corruption, Crime, and Compliance, Michael Volkov joins colleague and long-time friend Tom Fox as they delve into the intricacies of recent FCPA enforcement actions, shedding light on the evolving landscape of corporate compliance. From the ABB case to the SAP settlement, Michael and Tom dissect the nuances of voluntary disclosure, extensive remediation, and the shifting priorities of the Department of...

Electronic Communications Risks — DOJ Enters the Fray in March 2023 (Part II of III)

Just to play devil’s advocate (or perhaps to push my agenda), I have conflicting views on corporate use of ephemeral messaging applications.  On the one hand, I understand the importance of managing electronics communications data, prioritizing the preservation of relevant data, and reducing attendant costs from managing ever-growing amounts of electronic data.  On the other hand, as a former prosecutor and now defense counsel, I...

Volkov Law TV Offers New You Tube Compliance Channel

The Volkov Law Group is pleased to announce its new free, Volkov Law You Tube Channel, which offers a library of nearly ten (10) years of webinar videos. Volkov Law TV includes 132 webinar videos on a variety of enforcement and compliance topics. Please Subscribe to the Volkov Law TV Channel Here. The topics include:

DOJ’s Enforcement and Compliance Changes: Weighing the Pros and Cons of Voluntary Disclosures

The Justice Department certainly has altered the landscape of enforcement, compliance priorities, and ultimately corporate decisions surrounding voluntary disclosure.  It has become a little bit more complicated to sort out all the carrots and sticks.  One thing is clear – DOJ wants more companies to voluntarily disclose misconduct.  And that is understandable. DOJ does not want companies to wait until they receive a grand jury...