Everyone has jumped on the corporate culture bandwagon. For some new converts, they like to espouse corporate culture as a recent discovery, or a new-fangled approach for compliance programs. The story of corporate culture as a talismanic tool for ethics and compliance is really nothing new. Chief compliance officers knew the importance of corporate culture from the beginning. A number of companies separately called out...
As we have noted on numerous occasions, the U.S. Russia Sanctions and Export Control Program is unprecedented and a compliance challenge for all organizations. In another unprecedented action, the Justice Department and the Departments of Commerce and Treasury issued a Joint Compliance Note (“JCN”) on the importance of compliance with the Russia Sanctions and Export Control requirement, which provides important descriptions of red flags and...
As we have noted on numerous occasions, the U.S. Russia Sanctions and Export Control Program is unprecedented and a compliance challenge for all organizations. In another unprecedented action, the Justice Department and the Departments of Commerce and Treasury issued a Joint Compliance Note (“JCN”)on the importance of compliance with the Russia Sanctions and Export Control requirement, which provides important descriptions of red flags and tactics...
In an ironic twist (or you just can’t make this up moment, whichever you prefer), the Justice Department announced the arrest of Charles McGonigal, the former Special Agent in Charge (“SAC”) of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division in New York, along with Sergey Shestakov, a former Russian diplomat, in a five-count indictment for violating Russian sanctions and money laundering laws. The charges stem from services provided...
Just when we thought the ethics and compliance landscape was “stable,” the Justice Department pulled the compliance profession further and announced heightened expectations for corporate compliance programs. For prognosticators like myself it is easy to predict that next year companies will have to focus on their compensations systems and data preservation capabilities. DOJ has promised to issue additional guidance on these two important issues. However,...
Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, continues his blog series on FTX, discussing the civil charges filed by the SEC and the CFTC. He can be reached at [email protected]. In conjunction with the DOJ’s criminal indictment, the SEC brought civil charges against SBF. The SEC charged SBF with orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors in the FTX exchange (FTX Trading Ltd.). The SEC...
This is a very complicated case, Maude. You know, a lotta ins, a lotta outs, a lotta what-have-yous. And, uh, a lotta strands to keep in my head, man. Lotta strands in old Duder’s head. – The Dude, The Big Lebowski Each FCPA case provides valuable lessons in the mechanics of bribery schemes and the common techniques used by violators to secure funds and make illegal payments to...
The Department of Justice is pushing its commitment to voluntary disclosure programs. Companies, however, are not lining up at DOJ’s door. The balance between sitting tight or voluntary disclosures requires care. To complicate matters further, in certain cases, regulated companies have to face civil enforcement issues and coordinate voluntary disclosure programs offered by regulatory agencies. A perfect example of this dual track situation is compliance...
The Monaco Memo is a watershed moment as part of DOJ’s evolution and advocacy for effective ethics and compliance programs. We have seen prior moments of significant action — DOJ’s adoption of the FCPA Guidance, DOJ’s issuance of its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs, and now the Monaco Memo which takes compliance into a new world with new opportunities and challenges. The Monaco Memo starts...
The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission reached a $41 million settlement with GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (“GOL”) to resolve criminal and civil foreign bribery charges. GOL entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) with DOJ in exchange for payment of a $17 million criminal penalty. DOJ credited $1.7 million of that penalty against a $3.4 million fine that GOL agreed...
