Choose to be optimistic. It feels better.” – Dalai Lama Forgive me for my optimism. It is the only way to live a meaningful life. Or as some would say – being a pessimist is too much of a burden. We begin a New Year — and I am optimistic. To turn the corner here on relevance, ethics and compliance professionals, are by definition, optimists. Give...
Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, joins us for a post on sanctions compliance in the cryptocurrency industry. Matt can be contacted at MStankiewicz@volkovlaw.com. In early October, OFAC released a guidance brochure on sanctions compliance, specifically tailored for the cryptocurrency and virtual assets industry. For seasoned compliance veterans, it ends up reading like a refresher course for sanctions compliance. While the guidance was...
The Biden Administration is taking over the reins of government with vigor and focus. The Department of Justice, the Treasury Department, the State Department and the Commerce Department are expected to coordinate closely in an important objective – international anti-corruption efforts. What will this mean? DOJ will increase its focus on FCPA enforcement, Anti-Kleptocracy cases, Anti-Money Laundering, International Trade Sanctions; The Treasury Department’s Office of...
Janet Longo, Regulatory Compliance Analyst at The Volkov Law Group, joins us for a posting on videoconferencing and compliance export controls. Janet can be reached at jlongo@volkovlaw.com. As the Covid-19 virus is proliferating, so is the practice of conducting business through videoconferencing from home. While many commentators have discussed the serious data privacy and security problems associated with video conferencing, we’ve been thinking about the...
The Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) recently announced a settlement against Cobham Holdings (and its former subsidiary Aeroflex/Metelics, Inc. (“Metelics”, a software company) for $87,507 for violations of OFAC’s Ukraine-Russia sanctions program. (OFAC announcement here). Metelics violated the Ukraine-Russia sanctions program on three occasions between July 31, 2014 and January 15, 2015, by selling telecommunications and computer software (3,400 switch limiters;...
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...
Compliance officers are a much more collaborative group of professionals than lawyers. Compliance officers share information with colleagues about compliance experiences, best practices and strategies. The compliance industry benefits from this sharing of information. On occasion, however, this sharing of a company’s performance in one area can lead to unfair judgments by a recipient of the information. For example, one company may conduct an in-depth...
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...
Forgive me for overusing the term “convergence” but when the shoe fits, I say “wear it.” If you are managing corporate risks and are responsible for securing export licenses, ensuring that you are complying with OFAC sanctions requirements, interacting with customs and immigration officials around the globe, and conducting third party due diligence to onboard a new agent or distributor, there is no question that...
The D.C. Circuit dealt a blow last week to judicial attempts to exercise supervision over Justice Department negotiated Deferred Prosecution Agreements. In United States v. Fokker (Here), the Court answered the question in a resounding affirmation of the authority of prosecutors to resolve criminal cases and exercise discretion in charging decisions. In the end, the court’s decision was not a great surprise but the strength...
Board and Fraud – a Jonathan T. Marks Blog
