Tagged: SEC

Webinar: Compliance Program Pointers from Recent FCPA Enforcement Actions

Webinar: March 9, 2016, 12 Noon EST Sign Up Here FCPA enforcement actions provide important compliance tips and reminders for anti-corruption compliance programs. In this webinar, we will review FCPA enforcement actions for the last few years and present a number of important compliance program tips and reminders. Join Michael Volkov, CEO of The Volkov Law Group, for a discussion of FCPA enforcement actions and...

Return of the Jedi (DOJ): The Vimpelcom Enforcement Action (Part I of II)

Welcome back to the Department of Justice and FCPA enforcement. After a lengthy hiatus, DOJ returned to the FCPA enforcement scene with a demonstration of its full capability, assuming certain individuals are prosecuted criminally out of the case. (I know technically they reappeared with the PTC non-prosecution agreement but give me a little literary license). Overview In a top-10 worthy enforcement action, DOJ and the...

Misconduct in the C-Suite: SEC Settles FCPA Case with CEO

The SEC is setting its sights on individual prosecutions. Both the Justice Department and the SEC have reiterated the importance of prosecuting individuals. DOJ’s Yates Memorandum promises to deliver an increase in civil and criminal prosecutions. The SEC is delivering on its stated goal of increasing individual prosecutions. In a busy FCPA enforcement week, the SEC settled the SciClone Pharmaceuticals case and a separate prosecution...

SciClone Pharmaceuticals: A Textbook Case of FCPA Violations for Gifts, Meals, Entertainment and Travel

The Securities and Exchange Commission continues its steady march as the prominent FCPA enforcement agency against corporations.  The Justice Department has not brought any enforcement actions this year and continues to reevaluate its FCPA compliance program. In an interesting enforcement action, the SEC settled a case with SciClone Pharmaceuticals for $12.8 million for violations occurring in China. Unlike many other SEC enforcement actions, the SEC’s...

The Antitrust Leniency Model and FCPA Enforcement

I am always wary of simplistic policy proposals – often the simple idea to apply one policy to another subject matter, just does not work. Instead, policy debate will turn to the simple idea and how it can easily be applied in other circumstances. Not to get too cute, but the inquiry requires deciding on which idiom to apply: Is this a situation where: “If...

Is Your Anti-Corruption Compliance Program “Operational”?

The Justice Department and the SEC are tired of investigating companies with “paper” compliance programs. It is easy to spot a “paper” compliance program – as the saying goes, you can smell it a mile away. The key distinguishing feature of an effective compliance program and a “paper” program can be distilled down to the question of whether the program is “operational.” Hui Chen, the...

Predictions for Anti-Corruption Enforcement for 2016

In all honesty, if I were betting on my predictions, I would be broke. If I were setting the line on the Super Bowl, I am sure I would go bankrupt in paying off bets. With such confidence, you may want to just click  to the new blog post on my colleague Tom Fox’s excellent blog (here) or Matt Ellis’ excellent blog (here), or many...

Four Compliance Trends and Challenges for 2016

As we close out the year, it is now time to begin the retrospective reviews and predictions for the New Year. I will try to keep them to a minimum but I find it important to reflect and look forward to new challenges. Compliance is a fast moving profession. More attention is being paid to the compliance function, and more companies are embracing the importance...

Webinar: Anti-Corruption Enforcement and Compliance — The Year in Review

Webinar: Anti-Corruption Enforcement and Compliance — The Year in Review January 5, 2016, 12 noon EST Sign Up Here The past year — 2015 — was another eventful year in global anti-corruption enforcement. While the US Department of Justice enforcement activity slowed, the SEC and other governments increased enforcement activity. DOJ’s enforcement program took some unusual twists with the hiring of a Compliance Counsel and...

Now the Only Path to an SEC DPA or NPA: Self-Reporting

Lauren Connell, Managing Associate at The Volkov Law Group, joins us again for a posting about self-reporting FCPA violations.  Lauren’s profile is here, and she can be reached at [email protected]. One of the critical questions when evaluating a potential FCPA violation is to decide whether to disclose the matter to the Justice Department and the SEC. The SEC recently announced a requirement for companies to voluntarily disclose...