Corruption Crime & Compliance

So far in 2019, OFAC is sending a strong message about sanctions enforcement and compliance responsibilities. OFAC is aggressively seeking out new targets for enforcement, emphasizing compliance with Cuba and Iran sanctions programs, and focusing on US companies that acquire foreign subsidiaries to ensure post-closing compliance with OFAC sanctions regulations.   In this episode Michael Volkov dis...

As the blockchain industry continues to grow, we'll begin to see traditional industries shifting to the blockchain to leverage the technology. Unstoppable domains is a company working to place web domains on the blockchain. Instead of traditional extensions like .com, .net, or .io,, Unstoppable Domains will utilize .zil addresses as smart contracts on the Zilliqa public blockchain. This will first...

After a lengthy investigation (yes, 8 years), Walmart agreed to settle its FCPA violations and paid approximately $282 million , divided as follows: (1) $138 combined criminal penalty under the terms of a three-year non-prosecution agreement; and (2) $144 million disgorgement pursuant to an agreement with the SEC. Walmart’s Brazil subsidiary entered a guilty plea to one count of violating books an...

The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the “Act”) was signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown on June 28, 2018, after being hastily introduced in the California Legislature just a few days prior. The Act is effective January 1, 2020. In this episode, Michael Volkov interviews Teresa Troester-Falk, Chief Global Privacy Strategist at Nymity, concerning the Act and the compliance imp...

OFAC’s new framework guidance for sanctions compliance programs stretched into new territory with its risk assessment requirement. This new approach reflects OFAC’s recent aggressive enforcement programs.   The scope of a risk assessment has to mirror the breadth of enforcement risks and has to include review of:   (i) customers, supply chain, intermediaries, and counter-parties; (ii) the products...

Data privacy has become a hot topic lately. Companies have built massive fortunes by selling users’ personal information to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, they often fail to secure that same data while hackers run amok, putting the users at risk.  What’s a person to do?  Enter ImagineBC .  In the ImagineBC community, you’re in control of your personal information – and free to monetize it. Built o...

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Companies are starting to understand that an effective internal investigation program is a critical function to promote a speak up culture. A company that has a dysfunctional internal investigation program will find it difficult to prevent and detect misconduct. By contrast, a company that maintains an effective internal investigation program by adhering to its standard operating procedures, treat...

On the heels of the Justice Department’s announcement of its new compliance guidance, on May 2, 2019, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) issued its promised guidance for sanctions compliance programs (“SCP”). Together with its aggressive enforcement of economic sanctions, OFAC has set a new standard for SCPs, and has “strongly encourage[d]” companies and individuals...

In a major development in ethics and compliance program expectations, the Justice Department has issued a new and important revised guidance on the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs . The new Evaluation Guidance supersedes the prior document issued in February 2017, which contained a lengthy list of questions on key topic areas.   Join Michael Volkov as he discusses the new guidance and...

The blockchain revolution is still merely in its infancy.  Liquidity Digital seeks to continue pushing the industry forward, by digitizing securities - stocks, derivatives, real estate, and more - and placing them on the blockchain.  Liquidity Digital is building an ecosystem for the creation of new assets, introducing ways to allocate capital to traditionally underserved areas of financial market...

With the growth of the compliance profession and the importance of compliance functions as part of corporate governance, there has been a significant increase in the quantity and quality of compliance studies and surveys. It takes time to keep up with all the compliance information being developed and released. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews three recent compliance studies.    

Global banks are the poster children of sanctions violations and the importance of trade compliance. At the top of the heap is Standard Chartered Bank. In a long-awaited resolution of a multi-year investigation, the Justice Department, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), the New York District Attorney’s (DANY), the Federal Reserve, the New York State Department of Fin...

Fresenius Medical, the largest supplier of dialysis equipment and services agreed to pay $231 million to the Justice Department and the SEC to resolve FCPA violations in 17 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Fresenius entered a non-prosecution agreement with the Justice Department, in which it agreed to pay an $87 million payment and a two-year corporate monitor. Fresenius agreed to...

In another blockbuster FCPA prosecution, the Justice Department and the SEC announced an $850 million settlement with Mobile Telesystems (“MTS”), Russia’s largest mobile carrier. At the same time, the Justice Department announced criminal indictments against an MTS executive and the notorious corrupt Uzbek official, Gulnara Karimova, on criminal charges.   In this episode, Michael Volkov discusses...

Corporations have to invest in their Speak Up Culture.  A critical component is a company's hotline and incident reporting system.  An effective hotline reporting channel(s) depends on responsive and timely investigations of potential wrongdoing. In this Episode, Michael Volkov discusses best practices for hotline and reporting systems.

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OFAC is off to a fast start in 2019.  It has implemented enhanced Venezuela sanctions, designated PDVSA as a Specially Designated National, and brought four separate enforcement actions with important lessons learned for sanctions compliance. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews OFAC's actions and outlines important sanctions compliance lessons learned.

The corporate governance landscape is littered with companies that have suffered major legal and reputational damage as a result of failure to promote and protect a safe workplace environment.  Companies have failed to hold offenders accountable for sexual misconduct and violation of applicable legal and code requirements. The #MeToo era has resulted in increased reporting and monitoring of corpor...

The General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 ("GDPR") was a watershed moment in data and privacy compliance.  The new law and regulations applies to all companies and persons within the European Union and the European Economic Area.  Since its effective date, May 25, 2018, enforcement of the new law has begun.  In the first year, compliance and enforcement practitioners have identified importan...

The corporate world has been rocked by major governance failures surrounding #MeToo incidents and complaints.  Recently, Google suffered global walkouts by employees who were upset by Google's payment of lucrative severance packages to senior executives forced to resign because of sexual misconduct issues, and a culture of sexual misconduct that included 48 sexual misconduct incidents resulting in...

Companies involved in export and import activities face a variety of risks from sanctions and export controls created by a complex maze of regulations and oversight from the Department of State, Department of Treasury and the Department of Commerce.  With the increasing complexity of sanctions regimes, companies have to devote significant attention and resources to implement an effective trade com...

Global prosecutors and regulators continued to increase anti-money laundering enforcement and regulatory actions.  Global and US regulators have increasingly focused on beneficial ownership and transparency requirements.  In 2018, FinCEN's Customer Due Diligence rule went into effect. US prosecutors also brought several significant AML criminal prosecutions against large banks; the SEC has increas...

The Justice Department reported its 2018 fraud statistics showing $2.8 billion in recoveries under the False Claims Act.  While this number is staggering, fiscal year 2018 recoveries were down from than $500 million from fiscal year 2017.  Nonetheless, companies in the healthcare, defense and financial industries continue to face significant False Claims Act risks. In this episode, Michael Volkov...

Companies involved in the export and import of defense products and services face significant risks surrounding compliance with the International Traffic in Arms (ITAR) statute and regulations.  The US State Department's Directorate of Defense Control (DDTC) tightly regulates the defense industry and aggressively enforces ITAR rules and regulations. In this episode, Michael Volkov interviews Colle...