Corruption Crime & Compliance

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 increased AML enforcement as part of reviews of internal controls.  Regulators brought enforcement actions against financial institutions and gatekeepers, including compliance officers. In this episode, Michael Volkov discusses 2018 AML enforcement actions and compliance trends.

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 interviews Jessica Sanderson, Of Counsel, at The Volkov Law Group, who specializes in False Claims Act litigation and compliance. Jessica can be reached at jsanderson@volkovlaw.com.  

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 Colleen Hurson, Of Counsel at The Volkov Law Group, who specializes in ITAR compliance and enforcement matters.  Colleen can be reached at churson@volkovlaw.com.  

The SEC and the Justice Department closed their respective 2018 books with resolution of three separate enforcement actions: Polycom, Eletrobras and Two Former Officers of Panasonic Avionics. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews and discusses important lessons learned from these three separate FCPA enforcement actions.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control ("OFAC") had a busy year -- the first half of 2018 was dedicated to re-imposing the Iran Sanctions Program and updating the Russia Sanctions Program. In the second half of the year, OFAC resumed its pace for enforcement actions. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews OFAC enforcement actions and sanctions regulations for 2018.

In 2018, ethics and compliance professionals continued to innovate and push for compliance program enhancements. in response to growing demand, compliance industry vendors helped to implement new and innovative tools for use in compliance programs. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews ethics and compliance trends and developments during 2018 and outlines predictions for the upcoming year.

The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission had another strong year in FCPA enforcement. The numbers for 2018 tell a compelling story. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews FCPA enforcement for 2018 and makes predictions for the upcoming year 2019. Corporations Individuals Declinations Fines/Penalties DOJ 5 26 4 $950 million SEC 14 4 NA $380 million Total 19 30 4 $1.33 billion

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced a number of modifications to its policies governing prosecution of corporations for criminal and civil violations of law.  In 2017, DOJ announced its FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy.  Over the last year, DOJ expanded this policy to apply to non-FCPA corporate violations, as well as mergers and acquisitions.  In addition, DOJ recently announced the adoption of an Anti-Piling On Policy, as well as revisions to its Yates Memorandum governing prosecution of culpable individuals. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews DOJ's corporate enforcement policies to provide a current picture of these policies and the impact they have on corporate criminal and civil enforcement.

The FCPA Guidance continues to inform compliance practitioners on compliance best practices. Issued in 2012, the FCPA Guidance provides important information concerning a number of compliance functions and risks.  The FCPA Guidance includes important discussions about legal intent, due diligence, successor liability and other issues, which can be used to establish important safe harbors for an effective ethics and compliance program. In this episode, Michael Volkov discusses the enduring importance of the FCPA Guidance and discusses specific examples of areas where the FCPA Guidance can be used to inform day-to-day compliance decisions.

Corporate compliance departments are rapidly implementing their own internal audit function -- operating their own internal compliance monitoring and audit function.  No longer can compliance departments rely on internal audit to report on the compliance department's operations.  Companies have to implement internal (or external) audit procedures. In this episode, Michael Volkov discusses how to conduct a compliance audit.