Tagged: due diligence

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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7 Sep, 2016

Customer Due Diligence in the Post-Panama Papers Era

Sometimes it takes a scandal to advance a policy or law enforcement cause. The Panama Papers scandal has given new life to financial regulators around the world who seek to impose customer due diligence requirements on banks and other key players in the financial industry. Knowing Your Customer is not only a basic requirement but is fast becoming a potential enforcement nightmare. In this era,...

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5 Sep, 2016

Lessons Learned from AstraZeneca’s $5.5 Million SEC FCPA Settlement

Last week, the SEC added another pharmaceutical company to its list of FCPA violators when AstraZeneca agreed to a $5.5 million settlement with the SEC. AZ is now the 25th drug or medical device company to pay an FCPA penalty for violating the FCPA. AZ’s violations were not limited to China as a number of recent FCPA enforcement actions against drug/medical device companies, but included...

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24 Aug, 2016

Five Key Takeaways from Key Energy’s SEC FCPA Settlement

The SEC, last week, announced its $5 million settlement with Key Energy. As always, FCPA settlements contain important examples of enforcement priorities and policies. Key Energy’s recent settlement is an example of the benefits of cooperation, especially when a company, like Key Energy, did not initiate the investigation by disclosing the matter to the government. Key Energy agreed to a books and records and internal...

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11 Aug, 2016

Third Party Risk Management Not Just Due Diligence

The term “due diligence” is an overused expression in the compliance world. It has become a term to mean heightened concern or investigation. No one can really define what it means except to say it has different meanings in different contexts. Some would say it is a term of art in the legal and compliance world. It is misleading to add the term “investigation” to...