Corruption Crime & Compliance

In June 2018, the SEC announced an FCPA settlement with Beam Suntory for violations in India.  Beam's settlement totaled over $8 million.  Beam's conduct involved illegal payments made through third-party representatives to increase Beam's sales, product placement and secure appropriate registrations and approvals needed to distribute liquor in India.  Beam also did not receive any remedialtion cr...

An effective compliance program requires that companies review and improve their compliance programs.  A company should regularly review and test its controls, and address potential weaknesses in its compliance program.  The Justice Department and the SEC have encouraged companies to conduct regular tests and reviews to create a sustainable compliance program.  Companies should design and implemen...

The federal government continues to push aggressive False Claims Act enforcement cases against healthcare companies, including hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hospices and other healthcare providers.  The Justice Department has employed the FZlse Claims Act to target companies in the opioid industry as a response to the opioid crisis in our country. Healthcare companies have to implement ef...

Dr. Pat Harned is the CEO of the Ethics and Compliance Initiative (ECI).  The mission of the ECI is to empower organizations to build and sustain high quality ethics & compliance programs.  Dr. Harned is a leading compliance advocate and strategist.  The ECI has been at the forefront of developing compliance standards and best practices.   In this episode, Michael Volkov interviews Dr. Harned...

Investing in cryptocurrency is fraught with challenges and inefficiencies. Jason Davis is seeking to solve these problems with Hoard Invest - with a mission to empower anyone, anywhere in the world to hold, track, transfer, and transact with any tokenized asset from their mobile device, privately & instantly. The task in doing so is nothing short of monumental, especially considering the regul...

Global Companies face a complex set of data breach notification requirements.  In the absence of a uniform federal standard, companies have to tailor their data breach notification procedures to meet the requirements of 50 U.S. states.  With respect to European Union residents, global companies have to meet stringent requirements established by the General Data Protection Regulations. In...

FCPA enforcement in the first half of 2018 continued at a steady pace.  The first half of 2018 included several significant corporate and individual prosecutions for FCPA violations.  Tom Fox and Michael Volkov review FCPA enforcement and identify significant trends and enforcement actions. Tom Fox has released his new compliance book -- The Compliance Handbook, which is available at: https://www....

Companies face evolving and significant cyber risks. The FBI estimates that ransomware will generate at least $1 billion for criminals.  Businesses stand to lose at least $400 billion each year from hacks.  The cyber defense, forensics and insurance industry will be worth nearly $200 billion by the end of this decade.  Each year there is an average of 1.5 million cyber attacks, or approximately 40...

Companies have to implement a robust policy management program.  In today's risky environment, companies should automate a robust policy management program that requires regular review, assessment and updating of policies and procedures.  A policy management program should be created consisting of key constituencies to ensure that policies and procedures are current, effective, and appropriately t...

In a special podcast episode, I take time out from the legal and compliance world to discuss the wonderful island of Sicily, Italy.  To explain and provide an introduction to Sicily, and in particular the western region, I interview my wife, Rosetta Sciacca, about Sicily, its people, its culture and its cuisine. Happy Fourth of July!!!

The Justice Department has released two important documents that provide guidance to compliance practitioners as to compliance program best practices: (1) The FCPA Guidance; and (2) The Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.  In combination, these two documents provide important compliance program guidance. In this episode, Michael Volkov discusses various issues related to ethics and compli...

Global companies face serious challenges in the design and implementation of compliance programs to meet increasing risks in emerging markets.  As global companies grow, so do compliance programs. The specific design and structure of a global compliance programs presents numerous challenges requiring balancing of various factors, including consistency across the organization, economies of scale an...

An increasing number of chief compliance officers report directly on a monthly basis to the Chief Executive Officer.  As the compliance profession has earned independence and empowerment, CCOs are now part of the C-Suite and need to develop a positive relationship with the CEO to support the company's ethics and compliance program. In doing so, CCOs need to ask themselves two important questions:...

Compliance professionals are learning about new technologies that are quickly evolving to aid the compliance function.  We hear regularly about the promise of artificial intelligence and block chain technology.  These new developments will have a significant impact on compliance.  But for now there are other areas where technology can help compliance programs today, including automation, data coll...

Research has consistently demonstrated that an ethical corporate culture results in increased profits and sustainable growth.  Companies with a positive culture have lower rates of employee misconduct, increased employee productivity, and lower employee turnover.  All of these factors lead to higher growth rates, improved employee morale, and a reduced risk of misconduct and government investigati...

Tom Fox is a thought leader for the ethics and compliance profession.  He is a prolific writer who has produced a steady body of work -- podcasts, books, blogs, articles -- to advance the compliance function.  He is knowledgeable, practical and insightful on how to implement and maintain an effective compliance program. Tom has just released a new and important book -- The Complete Compliance Hand...

Special Counsel Mueller's investigation of possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russia has been dominating the country's attention.  in recent weeks, the US Attorney's separate investigation of Michael Cohen's activities has been gaining attention as well.  These two significant investigations are moving at a rapid pace with new developments each day. Michael Volkov discusses these...

Two recent ethics and compliance surveys and studies provide important information on ethics and compliance program trends.  The first is LRN’s 2018 Ethics and Compliance Program Effectiveness Report.  The second is the Ethics and Compliance Initiative Global Business Ethics Survey. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews the two surveys and studies and the implications for ethics and compliance p...

When a company learns that the government is investigating the company's activities, a company has to move quickly to respond to the government and engage prosecutors about the investigation.  Depending on how the company learns about the government investigation, the company's strategy and immediate steps may differ. Once the company learns it is under investigation, the company has to collect in...

In the early part of 2018, the Justice Department brought two significant AML criminal enforcement actions against US Bancorp and Rabobank, respectively. These two cases, coupled with the new beneficial ownership regulations effective May 11, 2018, raise significant changes in the AML compliance and enforcement landscape.  In addition, the SEC and FINRA brought an important civil AML enforcement a...

On August 9, 2018, FBI agents executed search warrants at Michael Cohen's office, hotel, residence, safety deposit box and electronic devices.  Since then, we learned that the US Attorney's Office in New York City have an ongoing criminal investigation against Michael Cohen.  The full scope of this investigation has yet to be disclosed but it is clear that Cohen will face significant and serious c...

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As part of the aggressive enforcement of white collar crime cases, federal  law enforcement officers are executing more search warrants at company offices.  Companies should plan in advance for such an event.  A company can learn valuable information about an ongoing investigation.  Just as important, company officials have to preserve and assert objections when federal agents conduct a search. In...

Haiti continues to suffer from significant corruption.  In Transparency International's recent Corruption Perception Index, Haiti ranked 157 out of 180 countries on the corruption perception index. Angelo Viard, a longtime expert in business development in Haiti sees a different picture -- business opportunities in Haiti are present but corruption risks have to be acknowledged and addressed.  Ange...

Companies continue to face significant risks from their third parties.  In response, companies are implementing sophisticated due diligence and third party risk management systems.  FCPA enforcement risks are only one of several risks created by a company's third parties.  Companies have to screen and review their third parties for corruption, sanctions, money laundering, antitrust, human traffick...