Tagged: SEC

8 Feb, 2023

Contract to Invoice to Payment (“Tinkers to Evers to Chance”) (Part II of II)

The SEC knows that it has powerful enforcement tools. The FCPA imposes two important requirements on issuers – keep accurate books and records and maintain internal controls to ensure that management’s accounting controls operate effectively to ensure proper use of corporate assets. The SEC knows these are broad requirements. One critical area of focus has been the SEC’s focus on contract-invoice-payment process. For compliance professionals,...

General

7 Feb, 2023

The Importance of Accounting and Internal Controls (Part I of II)

Here are some basic propositions that surround FCPA compliance. It is often underplayed that the FCPA contains more than just a bribery prohibition – the FCPA contains broad provisions, requiring accurate books and records and internal controls. When it comes to bribery, wrongdoers have to find ways to “steal” or gain unauthorized access to money often by circumventing internal controls. Thus, bribery conduct often goes...

General

20 Dec, 2022

The SEC and CFTC Bring Civil Charges against FTX, Alameda, and SBF (III of IV)

Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, continues his blog series on FTX, discussing the civil charges filed by the SEC and the CFTC. He can be reached at [email protected]. In conjunction with the DOJ’s criminal indictment, the SEC brought civil charges against SBF. The SEC charged SBF with orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors in the FTX exchange (FTX Trading Ltd.). The SEC...

General

18 Dec, 2022

The Fall of FTX: The Legal Ramifications of the Collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s Cryptocurrency Empire (I of IV)

Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, joins us with a comprehensive blog series that will breakdown the various legal issues facing the fallen cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its disgraced founder Sam Bankman-Fried. He can be reached at [email protected]. The cryptocurrency world is in shock watching the events unfold around the stunning collapse of FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. The...

General

21 Nov, 2022

The Ins and Outs of the Ghana Bribery Scheme (Part II of II)

This is a very complicated case, Maude. You know, a lotta ins, a lotta outs, a lotta what-have-yous. And, uh, a lotta strands to keep in my head, man. Lotta strands in old Duder’s head. – The Dude, The Big Lebowski Each FCPA case provides valuable lessons in the mechanics of bribery schemes and the common techniques used by violators to secure funds and make illegal payments to...

General

21 Nov, 2022

Goldman Sachs Official Indicted Over Ghana Bribery Scheme (Part I of II)

Talk about a reminder of the past, Asante Berko, a former Executive Director in Goldman Sachs, recently was arrested in London on criminal FCPA charges arising from his involvement in a bribery scheme in Ghana. The surprising part of the case was the delay in his arrest – over 2 years. In 2020, Berko was charged by the SEC for FCPA violations. He settled the...

General

11 Oct, 2022

VMware pays SEC $8 Million for Misleading Financial Reporting

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s bread-and-butter enforcement actions focus on accounting fraud. The SEC has a long history in uncovering fraudulent financial reporting schemes. In the early 2000s, Wall Street was shaken by a number of scandals involving financial reporting fraud which eventually resulted in passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This Act transformed the auditing profession and to this day is the most important reform...

Podcasts

25 Sep, 2022

Episode 248 — Deep Dive into the GOL Brazil FCPA Enforcement Action

The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission reached a $41 million settlement with GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (“GOL”) to resolve criminal and civil foreign bribery charges. GOL entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) with DOJ in exchange for payment of a $17 million criminal penalty. DOJ credited $1.7 million of that penalty against a $3.4 million fine that GOL agreed...

Podcasts

20 Jun, 2022

Episode 238: 2022 FCPA Enforcement Trends . . . So Far

In following the Justice Department and the Securities Exchange Commission FCPA enforcement actions, I am always reminded of the popular phrase — “reading the tea leaves.” (or “tasseography,” a fortune-telling method based on tea leave patterns in tea sediments). Despite a slow initial year in 2021, the Biden Administration’s stamp and push on FCPA enforcement is becoming clear. Keep in mind, DOJ and SEC officials have...

Podcasts

12 Jun, 2022

Episode 237 — The Tenaris SEC FCPA Settlement

The SEC announced another FCPA settlement in 2022. FCPA enforcement, in general, is picking up. Tenaris, a global supplier of steel pipes and related services for the energy industry agreed to pay the SEC $78 million to resolve FCPA violations that occurred in Brazil. The US Department of Justice closed its investigation without bringing charges. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the SEC settlement.