Tagged: FCPA

10 Dec, 2019

Ericsson’s Pervasive Bribery Conduct: The Toxic Mix of Senior Executive Involvement and Third Party Corruption (Part II of II)

Ericsson’s FCPA settlement is in the books (not the books and records). But it casts a significant shadow across the FCPA landscape. A pervasive and systemic culture of bribery is defined to reflect senior executive involvement, winning business at any cost and using bribery as an accepted business strategy. Ericsson will now pay more than just the price of a $1 billion settlement; it will...

General

3 Sep, 2019

Second Circuit Affirms FCPA Conviction of Ng Lap Seng and Rejects Application of Supreme Court’s McDonnell Decision to FCPA

In an interesting decision, well worth a read here, on August 9, 2019, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected Ng Lap Seng’s appeal of his 2017 conviction for bribery of united Nationals officials. In affirming the conviction, the Second Circuit ruled that the Supreme Court’s holding in McDonnell (see blog post here), in which the Court ruled that under 18 USC...

General

1 Aug, 2019

Digging into High-Risk Distributors (Part II of II)

Compliance professionals are implementing their own monitoring and auditing strategies. Internal audit does not have the resources nor the time to assume responsibility for this function. If possible, internal audit may support, advise and assist in the monitoring and auditing functions. Frankly, a partnership between compliance and internal audit in this area is ideal but compliance cannot wait for internal audit to join the mission. ...

General

31 Jul, 2019

Managing High-Risk Distributor Risks (Part I of II)

Companies will often rely on a network of distributors to help sell their products in emerging markets. From a business economics standpoint, engaging a distributor is often more cost efficient than investing in a sales force in a new market. As a result, companies may enter a new market by relying on distributors, and if successful, may invest in the future by establishing its own...

General

5 Mar, 2019

DOJ Arrests Micronesian Official and Hawaii-Based Businessman Pleads Guilty to FCPA Violation

In January 2019, the Justice Department brought an interesting FCPA prosecution involving a Hawaii-based businessman, Frank James Lyon, and Master Halbert, a government official from Micronesia. DOJ’s prosecution was interesting for two significant reasons – first, it was another example of DOJ enforcement efforts against the payor of the bribe for violating the FCPA and the recipient of the bribe, the foreign official, for money...

Events / General

4 Feb, 2019

Webinar: Anti-Corruption Compliance in Pharma and Medical Device Industries

Webinar: Anti-Corruption Compliance in Pharma and Medical Device Industries February 26, 2019, 12 Noon EST Sign up HERE FCPA enforcement against drug and device companies continues at a robust rate. Given the high-risk nature of pharmaceutical and medical device industries and significant interactions with foreign government officials, drug and device companies face a number of challenges in designing and implementing effective anti-corruption compliance programs. Join...

General

21 Oct, 2018

NAVEX Global Releases 2018 Third-Party Risk Benchmark Report

NAVEX Global has issued its Third-PartyBenchmark Report. (HERE). The NAVEX Global Report contains important insights and data concerning ethics and compliance programs and third-party risk management strategies. I was pleased to assist NAVEX Global in preparing the 2018 Benchmark Report. Knowing how to appropriately define, screen and monitor your third parties is essential to minimizing risk. New industry benchmarks, along with the expert guidance provided in...

General

8 Oct, 2018

CEO Falls to SEC FCPA Settlement

Companies have definitely matured in the development and implementation of their ethics and compliance programs. Whether the pace has been rapid enough or is too slow, that is a debatable issue. A good litmus test for a mature ethics and compliance program is whether the company assesses and mitigates its C-Suite risks. Over and over again, companies fall under government scrutiny because of misconduct in...

General

6 Sep, 2018

Legg Mason Pays $34 Million to Resolve SEC’s Libyan FCPA Investigation

Legg Mason can finally close its books on the Gaddafi-era, Libyan bribery scandal. In June 2018, Legg Mason entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the Justice Department and agreed to pay $32 million for its role in the bribery scheme. Société Générale entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and paid $585 million for FCPA violations. Société Générale and Legg Mason admitted to paying over $90...

General

30 Aug, 2018

DOJ Issues Declination and Disgorgement Under FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy

In a recently released letter (here), the Justice Department issued a declination to the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL) for violations of the FCPA under the FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy. DOJ required ICBL to pay approximately $93,000 in disgorgement. ICBL paid approximately $36,000 in bribes to Donville Innis, a Barbadian government official, in exchange for government contracts worth approximately $686,000 and $93,000 in profits....