I am a positive person (anyone who has to say that raises doubts). At least I like to think I am. I am not yet sold on the wisdom of DOJ’s hiring of a compliance counsel. Frankly, I have a lot more respect for the knowledge and experience of line prosecutors at DOJ and their supervisors on this issue – they know and understand compliance...
In the public relations battle following the issuance of the Yates Memo, the Justice Department can now cite one example for the new policy – the recent arrest and charging of Carl Reichel, former President of Warner Chilcott. The Justice Department’s new policy got off to a rocky start: in the same week that the Yates memorandum was adopted, the government announced the GM settlement...
Believe it or not, life principles can be used in compliance, especially in due diligence. I always tell my kids that life has a way of setting priorities. As you get older, life becomes simpler and your priorities become clearer. Now watch this transition – the same goes for due diligence, not the age part but the priorities part. Once you assemble information and data...
He that can have patience can have what he will. – Benjamin Franklin Putting together an effective due diligence system requires patience. I freely admit that I am not a patient person, especially when it comes to ensuring ethics and compliance. By definition, however, effective compliance strategies require patience due to the scope and scale of the changes being implemented across a company. Due diligence is...
In the wreckage of a corporate FCPA enforcement action, a company has to answer two important questions. First, how did the conduct occur without senior executives and the Board learning or suspecting that such conduct was occurring or could occur? Second, how did the wrongdoers obtain access to the money needed to fund the bribery scheme? I know these two questions are fairly obvious, but...
The Justice Department’s recent Yates memorandum on individual accountability is a significant event. Sure, you can always find members of the FCPA Paparazzi who will discount the memo, or relegate it to a mere “political” statement. That view is unfortunate and ignores the real implications of the Yates memo. Such a viewpoint also shows how little members of the FCPA Paparazzi understand the true inner...
Say what you will – the SEC is making its mark this year in FCPA enforcement. So far, the SEC has brought nine separate enforcement actions, the latest with Bristol-Myers Squibb. I am sure we will see more before the end of the year. The SEC’s success reflects the investment they made in a new enforcement structure, the creation of the FCPA Section, and the...
The SEC’s FCPA enforcement action for $14.6 million against Bristol-Myers Squibb (“BMS”) in China provides a textbook example of how things can go wrong in China. For the compliance practitioner (as well as CEO and senior executives) in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, the BMS enforcement action should be read and digested as a quick checklist of important principles. The facts underlying the BMS...
Global anti-corruption efforts continue to increase. For global companies, this trend makes compliance even more critical. One of the most significant aspects of this trend is the US government’s cooperation with China. The United States does not have an extradition agreement or a law enforcement cooperation treaty with China. Prior to China President Xi’s recent visit to the United States, the US government turned over...
The Volkswagen scandal will be studied for years. One of many themes from the Volkswagen scandal will rest on the complete absence of any commitment to corporate governance. Volkswagen’s weird corporate structure (it is owned in large part by a family) and labor and government interests resulted in a mish-mosh of influences that permitted the family to exercise almost unbridled control over corporate functions, leaving...
