Tagged: due diligence

DOJ and SEC Raising the Stakes on Third Party Risk Management

If you review the last ten years of FCPA enforcement, the unmistakable pattern is rising expectations with regard to corporate compliance programs, particularly with regard to third party due diligence and risk management. Over the course of numerous enforcement actions, DOJ and the SEC have reached the point now where they are questioning not just the conduct of due diligence but the quality of due...

FCPA Enforcement Ramping Up Against Private Equity and Hedge Funds (Part III)

The Och-Ziff settlement has now set the stage for the Justice Department and the SEC to focus its enforcement eye on the private equity and hedge fund industry. The Och-Ziff action was initiated in response to the SEC’s industry inquiry launched in 2011. The SEC issued inquiry letters to approximately 10 separate private equity/hedge funds, and investment banks. The results of these inquiries are unknown...

Och-Ziff Failures in Due Diligence and Transaction Compliance (Part II)

The Och-Ziff enforcement action is replete with examples of failures in due diligence and transaction monitoring compliance. Och-Ziff’s bribery schemes were elaborate and intricate and involved complex transactions, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), designed to funnel large bribery payments. In the DRC, Och-Ziff executed the scheme primarily through two senior employees and an Israeli partner (DRC Partner), who were committed to...

DOJ and SEC Deliver Body Blow to Private Equity and Hedge Funds: Och-Ziff Settles FCPA Violations for $412 Million (Part I)

The Justice Department and the Securities Exchange Commission delivered a powerful FCPA enforcement message to private equity and hedge funds. Och-Ziff settled with the DOJ and SEC for total penalties of $412 million. The comprehensive enforcement action and settlement included: (1) a 3 year deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”); (2) a criminal plea to four criminal counts, two FCPA conspiracy counts, and a books and records...

GSK Settles SEC FCPA Case for $20 Million

The SEC finished with the last nail in GSK China’s coffin by announcing a $20 FCPA million settlement for GSK’s violations in China. The Justice Department declined to prosecute this case. In 2014, a Chinese court fined GSK $490 million for domestic bribery. GSK’s former China executive was given a three year suspended sentence and deported. A number of Chinese nationals were given prison sentences...

5 Key Takeaways from AB InBev SEC FCPA Settlement

The Justice Department and the SEC have been busy over the last 2 weeks in the FCPA arena. For those who have raised doubts about DOJ and the SEC’s continuing commitment to FCPA enforcement, you should forever hold your peace. The SEC announced a $6 million settlement with Anheuser-Busch InBev (“AB InBev”) for FCPA violations that occurred in India, along with a precedent setting (in...

Dig a Little Deeper: The Importance of Beneficial Ownership

Companies interact with a large number of entities in the outside world – customers, third party intermediaries and vendors and suppliers to name the most significant ones. These relationships are the lifeblood of a company. In today’s world, companies have to know with whom they are dealing – not just the name of the company, not just the officers of the company, but the natural...

Free webinar: Unravelling Corporate Structures: Understanding beneficial ownership and introducing new tools for due diligence

Beneficial ownership remains a compliance hot topic. While understanding beneficial ownership of an entity – a corporate or fund – is a key element in many compliance activities, it’s a daunting challenge. Countries vary in the amount of financial data private companies are required to disclose, and disclosure of ownership is not yet mandatory. Join us for a free webinar on October 12 (Register Here) during...

Trust But Verify — Due Diligence with a Jaded Eye

Ronald Reagan’s mantra with respect to US-Soviet relations in the 1980s applies with equal force to today’s world of due diligence. (I know it shows my age that I can recall this statement).  Not all due diligence cases require a skeptical eye. But most compliance professionals know when they are digging into a due diligence review that will require a substantial investigation. Government enforcement agencies...

Three Key Takeaways from the Nu Skin FCPA Settlement for a Corrupt Charitable Donation

In a rare enforcement action, the SEC settled an FCPA enforcement action for $766,000 for a charitable donation of $154,000 to improperly influence a high-ranking Chiese Communist party official to prevent a provincial agency investigation of Nu-Skin’s Chinese subsidiary. Nu-Skin China was being investigated in China for violating provincial direct sale restrictions. The Chinese Administration of Industry and Commerce investigated the matter and proposed to...