The Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control continues to ramp up sanctions enforcement. Even with the likely relaxation of the Iran and Cuba sanctions, OFAC has been continuing its aggressive enforcement program. Thus far, OFAC has collected approximately $270 million in civil penalties, and participated in several major criminal investigations, including Commerzbank and Schlumberger. Commerzbank agreed to pay a total of $1.45 billion...

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...

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...

Here at Corruption, Crime and Compliance, we aim to please our readers, subscribers, clients, associates and friends. We are committed to promoting the importance of ethics and compliance strategies, to supporting corporate governance improvements, and to implementing effective ethics and compliance functions. At the same time, we offer clients representation in response to government inquiries, subpoenas, investigations, as well as civil litigation.  Our legal services...

I do not mean to be facetious or snarky, but I am concerned about organizations that sell or promote their ability to certify or give a seal of approval to a company as an “ethical” company.  Even more troubling (or perhaps misleading) is the certification: “world’s most ethical companies.” With the growth of ethics and compliance, you can expect that charlatans, greedy snake oil sales...

Anti-money laundering compliance is a very difficult task. The number of risks is exponential. AML compliance officers have an innovative and rich history of compliance techniques and strategies. In the end, AML compliance depends on: accurate and comprehensive risk assessments; pre-screening of customers through appropriate KYC programs; and audit and monitoring of transaction and customer activity. Despite the commitment and dedication of AML compliance professionals,...

Last week, the SEC announced a settlement of an FCPA enforcement action for $12 million against Mead Johnson Nutrition for payment of bribes in China to health care professionals at state-owned hospitals. Mead Johnson’s illegal payments were intended to increase referrals by Chinese physicians and healthcare officials of Mead Johnson products, and obtain access to marketing and personal information about expectant and recent mothers. Over...

Lauren Connell, Managing Associate  at the Volkov Law Group, joins us again for a guest post.  Lauren’s profile is here and she can be reached at [email protected]. The “I didn’t know” defense is a tough one to sustain. Maybe you didn’t “know,” but should you have known? Were all the signs there but you looked the other way? Should you have asked more questions?  Is...

I am pleased to announce the release of my new e-book — The Art of the Internal Investigation — by Corporate Compliance Insights.  To download a free copy, please visit here. Conducting an internal investigation in today’s risky enforcement environment requires numerous — if not continuous — judgement calls.  Stakes are high, and answers are never black-and-white. In this free eBook, Michael Volkov wields his...