Corruption Crime & Compliance

Since my last update on the Russia investigation in December 2017, Special Counsel Mueller's investigation has been gaining momentum -- Paul Manafort plead guilty and agreed to cooperate after being convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia.  Michael Cohen entered into a plea agreement with the Southern District of New York prosecutors, including a specific admission that President Trump directed him to make hush payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.  Aside from these two major developments, Special Counsel Mueller's team has been focusing the investigation on new subjects, including Roger Stone, Donald Trump Jr., and of course, the President. In this episode, Michael Volkov discusses recent developments in the Russia investigation and offers some predictions for the future course.

On May 8th, 2018, the Trump administration withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA and began to reimpose the U.S. nuclear-related sanctions. All of the sanctions in existence prior to the JCPOA including nuclear-related secondary sanctions will be effective on November 5, 2018.  The wind-down of Iran-related activities pursuant to authorizations provided by the JCPOA is required in two wind-down periods – a 90 day period which just ended, and a second 180-day period, which occurs on November 5, 2018.   On August 6, 2018, the Trump administration issued a new executive in order to reimpose the first tranche of the Iran sanctions. In doing so, the executive order consolidates relevant sanctions authorities and broadens the scope of the previous restrictions.   The re-imposed sanctions create significant compliance obligations, and in particular, in the third-party risk management area.   In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews the re-imposed sanctions, the broader authorities and new third-party risks created by the new regulations.

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 credit for its failure to adequately respond to and investigate early indications of bribery conduct. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews Beam's conduct and its compliance failures.

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 implement a proactive evaluation program to ensure that their compliance program continuously improves. In this episode,  Michael Volkov, CEO of The Volkov Law Group, discusses strategies for companies to conduct proactive evaluation programs to assess their compliance program.

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 effective ethics and compliance controls to protect against fraud and possible government enforcement actions. In this episode, Michael Volkov discusses recent developments and trends in False Claims Act enforcement.

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 about the ECI's activities and her view of the compliance profession.  

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 regulatory ambiguity around the industry. In this episode, Jason Davis, CEO of Hoard, talks with Matt Stankiewicz about his company, the cryptocurrency industry in general, and what he would like to see from regulators going forward. Episode 50 is sponsored by Dark Horse Intelligence, a global investigation and security consulting firm offering comprehensive domestic and foreign intelligence services to the legal, corporate and financial communities. Dark Horse Intell -- https://darkhorseintel.com/    

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 this episode, Michael Volkov reviews the data breach notification requirements for US person data and for EU residents.

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.amazon.com/Complete-Compliance-Handbook-Operationalizing-Program/dp/1783583304  

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 4000 per day. In this episode Michael Volkov discusses cybersecurity threats and compliance strategies to mitigate such risks.