Corruption Crime & Compliance

In a blockbuster case, the Justice Department announced a global settlement with Airbus SE, a manufacturer of civilian and military aircraft, under which Airbus agreed to pay over $4 billion (yes, with a “B”) to resolve charges with the United States, France, and the United Kingdom for its role in a bribery scheme, and to resolve Airbus’ violation of the International Trade in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”).   In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the Airbus bribery and ITAR settlement.  

Elizabeth Slim, Senior Consultant at the Volkov Law Group, discusses Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Compliance trends.  Liz recently joined the Volkov Law Group and has extensive experience in the banking and financial compliance industry.  She is major thought leader in anti-money laundering compliance and enforcement, and a leader at ACAMS. In this Episode, Michael Volkov discusses Liz's career and her thoughts on AML and financial compliance trends.

The Justice Department continues to aggressively pursue False Claims Act cases.  In 2019, DOJ recovered over $3 billion from healthcare, defense and financial companies.  The heath care sector -- pharmaceutical, medical device, hospitals and healthcare providers -- continues to be the primary focus of False Claims Act cases.  At the same time, qui tam relators initiate a significant percentage of False Claims Act cases. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews DOJ's False Claims Act enforcement in 2019 and significant trends.

2019 was a big year for OFAC enforcement and compliance -- OFAC collected $1.28 billion in fines and penalties in a total of 26 separate enforcement actions.  OFAC also issued important compliance program guidance, mandating a number of important requirements for compliance programs. OFAC's enforcement record for 2019 focused on supply chain sourcing; acquisition of foreign companies engaged in transactions with prohibited countries and customers; third-party distributors which re-sold to prohibited countries and customers; and compliance with specific Russia sectoral sanctions. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews OFAC enforcement actions and trends and significant compliance requirements.

Ethics and compliance had a big year -- new compliance guidance was issued by the Justice Department's Criminal and Antitrust Divisions and by the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control.  The compliance profession continues to innovate and new automated technologies are rapidly becoming available. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews ethics and compliance trends.    

The Justice Department and the SEC had a record year in FCPA enforcement — the largest amount of penalties against corporate defendants and the most individuals charged in one year.  DOJ also adopted new guidance on corporate compliance programs. The Justice Department's enforcement year included several major prosecutions, including Ericsson, Walmart, Fresenius Medical and Cognizant Technology. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews 2019 FCPA enforcement and compliance trends.

Global companies face extraordinary risks through their reliance on third-party agents, distributors, consultants and vendors/suppliers.  Federal prosecutors and regulators have had a record year in FCPA and sanctions enforcement.  To mitigate these risks, global companies are quickly adopting automated platforms to manage their third-party risks.  NAVEX Global is at the forefront of this effort through its RiskRate automated platform. Chris Bailey, Product Manager, NAVEX Global, RiskRate Manager, and Stephen Gooding, Senior Director, Sales Specialist, NAVEX Global RiskRate, join Michael Volkov to discuss current third-party risk trends and developments, including common issues that need to be addressed.  Chris and Stephen have several years experience working with companies to develop and implement efficient solutions to the third-party risk issue.      

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OFAC's aggressive enforcement program continues.  Recently, OFAC announced settlements with Apollo Aviation and Apple.  Both of these cases underscore the importance of enhancing OFAC compliance programs. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the two cases and the specific lessons learned.    

The Justice Department has been very busy in FCPA enforcement matters -- (1) Samsung Heavy Industries paid $75 million to settle FCPA violations; (2) Braskem's former CEO was indicted on FCPA charges; and (3) after a three-week trial, Transport's co-CEO was convicted of FCPA charges. In this episode, Michael Volkov catches up on recent FCPA enforcement actions.