Tagged: due diligence

9 Oct, 2016

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...

General

4 Oct, 2016

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...

General

2 Oct, 2016

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...

General

29 Sep, 2016

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...

Events

28 Sep, 2016

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...

General

25 Sep, 2016

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...

General

22 Sep, 2016

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...

General

15 Sep, 2016

Third-Party Risk Management – Part 2: Contract Termination

Cristina Muehl’s second part of her series addresses third-party risk management relating to contract termination. Cristina is a Senior Corporate Auditor at Delphi Corporation. Her Linked In profile is here. She can be reached at [email protected]. This second part of the series will take a look at the last phase in the lifecycle of third-party business relationship and that is contract termination. This is a...

General

14 Sep, 2016

Third-Party Risk Management – Part 1: Contract Extension

I am pleased to welcome Cristina Muehl as a guest contributor. Cristina has provided a two-part series on third-party risk management relating to contract extensions and contract termination. Cristina is a Senior Corporate Auditor at Delphi Corporation. Her Linked In profile is here. She can be reached at [email protected]. Risk Management is a constant theme for top management as it might make the difference between...

General

13 Sep, 2016

When Diligence is Not Given its “Due”

I find myself quibbling with compliance terms – hyper focus on small issues is not a positive trait. I often urge clients and colleagues to focus on issue of more significance and leave the smaller ones for another day. Hence, my recent criticism over “due diligence” policies and procedures for third party intermediaries. A more appropriate title is “risk management.” A due diligence inquiry of...