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...
The Justice Department has to do something about its timing – and more importantly, they need to reexamine exactly what they did (and are doing) with the criminal prosecution of GM. If you want a perfect example of talking out of both sides of your mouth, the last two weeks put the focus right on the leadership of the Justice Department. The picture is not...
Webinar: Update to Internal Investigations Best Practices October 13, 2015, 12 Noon EST Sign Up HERE The Justice Department’s recent announcement of a new policy governing individual accountability in corporate internal investigations will have a significant impact in the conduct of internal investigations. Companies will have to provide complete information about all individuals involved in potential misconduct in order to earn any cooperation credit. DOJ’s...
The Justice Department can surprise you – the release of the Yates Memo (here), as it is commonly referred to since it takes on the name of the Deputy Attorney General (e.g. McNulty Memo), is another strange example of DOJ responding to political winds. If anything, DOJ’s action appears a little bit late. The controversy surrounding DOJ’s failure to prosecute an appropriate number of individual...
Webinar: Anti-Corruption Compliance in the High-Tech Sector Wednesday, September 9, 2015, 12 Noon EST Sign Up Here The Justice Department and the SEC have focused FCPA enforcement resources on high-tech companies. Several high-tech companies have settled FCPA enforcement actions, while others remain under investigation. In a recent enforcement action, an SAP former executive plead guilty to an FCPA conspiracy and is awaiting...
When DOJ acts, they like to make a splash. While the FCPA Paparazzi have been lamenting the “slow down” in FCPA enforcement actions and the increase in case closings, DOJ still makes its mark when it acts, and I expect more DOJ actions in the last quarter of 2015. DOJ’s latest salvo was the criminal plea of a former SAP official, a US citizen, for...
