FCPA

Indictments and Other Developments Following indictments unsealed last week, Michael Volkov revisits the 1MDB scandal, from the major players to the various wrongdoings. The 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal (1MDB scandal) has been making headlines for the past few years. The turning point for U.S. prosecutors was the cooperation of Malaysian law enforcement and the corruption allegations surrounding Malaysia’s former Prime Minister...

Applying the FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy There are many ways a merger or acquisition can go sideways, including the discovery of less-than-legal business practices. However, a recent speech from the Department of Justice should help compliance officers involved in the M&A process rest a little easier in terms of FCPA enforcement. Valerie Charles, Chief Strategy Officer at GAN Integrity, explores the M&A-related...

Historic Corruption and Its Modern-Day Impacts Anne Eberhardt, CFE, CAMS and Senior Director at Gavin/Solmonese, discusses two notable cases involving corruption, bribery and consequent violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Each offers instruction for compliance practitioners. This autumn we are commemorating two significant anniversaries: the 10-year anniversary of the financial crisis and the centenary of the end of the...

Resulting Settlements and Remedial Measures Brazilian oil and gas giant Petrobras has entered into a series of settlements in closing out corruption investigations and litigation. For a long period of time, corruption was endemic at the corporation (the DOJ estimates illegally generated funds for payments as at least $2 billion), and the bill is finally coming due. When it comes...

Mitigating the Risk Posed by Introducers Wendy Wysong and associates at Clifford Chance write on the rise in prominence of “introducers” in Asia-Pacific countries and explain how the use of introducers can expose the organization to corruption risk. The team also discusses several recent cases that have resulted in fines and imprisonment. with co-authors Janice Goh and Feifei Yu Introducers...

The Implication for Non-FCPA Related Cases Michael Volkov discusses the Justice Department’s FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy, enacted late last year; its efficacy so far; and its potential impact on corporate criminal cases unrelated to the FCPA. The Justice Department’s FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy was announced in November 2017 with much fanfare – it was the culmination of a step-by-step process...

Corporate Criminal Liability for Bribery in Asia-Pacific While individual employees and company representatives are responsible for acts of bribery in the majority of cases, the trend in Asia-Pacific countries is toward greater scrutiny of corporations. with co-authors Jenni Hill, Lei Shi, Janice Goh, Tess Forge and Akanksha Bhagat Prosecutors, legislators and regulators in Asia-Pacific are increasingly rejecting the view that...

A Bribe is a Bribe Why do organizations use sanitized language rather than more direct verbiage? A new generation of business leaders and employees is beginning to question the need for corporate speak. Michael Volkov discusses the need for a new approach. Language communicates more than just words – indeed, the use of language reflects much more than simple communication....

"Resources Reflect Policy" and Other Observations Michael Volkov discusses themes emerging in the DOJ’s and SEC’s enforcement of FCPA violations thus far in 2018. There are two distinct themes in FCPA enforcement: The first is consistency (i.e., that some enforcement actions are relatively consistent across the board), and, in the last five to 10 years, the FCPA caseload has been...

Recently, Credit Suisse settled an FCPA enforcement action to the tune of $77 million for the illegal hiring of family members and close personal friends of Chinese government employees, as well as employees in Chinese state-owned enterprises. Compliance expert and long-time CCI contributor Tom Fox explores the details, the result of the investigation and the implications of the enforcement action...

The History of FCPA Enforcement, Part 2 In Part 1 of this two-part series on the history of the enforcement of the FCPA, Anne Eberhardt discussed some of the factors that led to its creation. In this second part, she describes how the FCPA evolved into one of the most feared law enforcement tools. The FCPA was signed into law...

The History of FCPA Enforcement, Part 1 Anne Eberhardt, Senior Director at Gavin Solmonese and an expert in FCPA, forensic, compliance, fraud and corruption investigations, offers a brief history of the FCPA. In this first installment, she provides historical context for the regulation, discusses its 1977 enactment and touches on the international community’s response. On March 15, 2018, Eberhard Reichert...