Tagged: SEC

15 Nov, 2015

Resetting FCPA Prosecution Policies

Recent press reports suggest that the Justice Department is reconsidering its FCPA criminal prosecution policies, particularly with respect to corporate defendants. As reported, DOJ is considering defining and increasing corporate benefits from voluntary disclosures and cooperation. This re-evaluation appears to have been triggered by changes in the Criminal Division leadership. DOJ’s recent Yates memorandum imposed new and significant obligations on companies seeking credit for cooperation...

General

13 Oct, 2015

The SEC’s Year of FCPA Enforcement

Say what you will – the SEC is making its mark this year in FCPA enforcement. So far, the SEC has brought nine separate enforcement actions, the latest with Bristol-Myers Squibb. I am sure we will see more before the end of the year. The SEC’s success reflects the investment they made in a new enforcement structure, the creation of the FCPA Section, and the...

General

11 Oct, 2015

Four Clear Messages from Bristol-Myers Squibb FCPA Enforcement Action

The SEC’s FCPA enforcement action for $14.6 million against Bristol-Myers Squibb (“BMS”) in China provides a textbook example of how things can go wrong in China. For the compliance practitioner (as well as CEO and senior executives) in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, the BMS enforcement action should be read and digested as a quick checklist of important principles. The facts underlying the BMS...

General

4 Oct, 2015

SEC’s Hitachi Enforcement Action and Important Compliance Reminders

The SEC continues to plug away at aggressive FCPA enforcement. This year, at least so far, the SEC has had a very successful year. The Hitachi case is a very interesting enforcement action for several major reasons. From a general perspective, the SEC’s decision to file the case in US District Court for the District of Columbia represents an important about face – instead of...

General

21 Sep, 2015

SEC Seeks Increased Access to Email

Jacqui Merrill, an Associate at The Volkov Law Group, joins us with a posting on the SEC’s request for increased access to emails. Jacqui’s profile is here, and she can be reached at [email protected]. In a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting held on September 16, 2015, Securities and Exchange Commission Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney expressed his frustration over the entity’s lack of access to stored emails....

General

8 Sep, 2015

Slowing Down the SEC Administrative Train

I am convinced that the law eventually reaches the “right” solution. There may be disastrous detours along the way, but in the end the law will adapt to reach the right result. Of course, our history is replete with instances of controversial, and ultimately embarrassing, court decisions (e.g. Plessy v. Ferguson). Nor do I mean to suggest that the SEC’s reliance on administrative hearings for...

General

30 Aug, 2015

Calculating the Incalculable: Reputational Damage (Part I of III)

Today I begin a three-part series on reputational damage. The first part tries to define the term “reputational damage;” the second part focuses on managing threats to a company’s reputation; and the final posting proposes creation of a senior risk manager in a corporate leadership team. If you ask CEOs and board members about the threats to a company resulting from a DOJ enforcement action,...

General

30 Aug, 2015

Reminders: Volkov Law TV, E-Mail Subscriptions, Books and Volkov Law for Ethics and Compliance

Here at Corruption, Crime and Compliance, we aim to please our readers, subscribers, clients, associates and friends. We are committed to promoting the importance of ethics and compliance strategies, to supporting corporate governance improvements, and to implementing effective ethics and compliance functions. At the same time, we offer clients representation in response to government inquiries, subpoenas, investigations, as well as civil litigation. Our legal services...

General

20 Aug, 2015

SEC Promotes Value of Cooperating Witnesses

Change does not occur overnight. The SEC, as much as any other government agency, has touted its hiring of former prosecutors and use of aggressive investigation tactics. I always took those statements with a grain of salt – after all, the SEC is enforcing civil laws and regulations. A prosecutor can only do so much in the civil enforcement arena. In a recent Wall Street...

General

11 Aug, 2015

Supreme Court Called Upon to Review the Newman Case and Address Insider Trading Liability

The Supreme Court is very likely to enter into the fray over the Second Circuit’s controversial Newman decision concerning insider-trading liability. The government has filed a petition for certiorari, and the stakes are high. Insider trading liability for unauthorized disclosures to tip recipients (‘tipees”) flows from the common sense notion that an insider cannot engage, directly or indirectly, in insider trading by personally benefitting from...