On May 19, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump signed Executive Order 13924, to provide regulatory relief for entities economically impacted by the pandemic. Section 6 of the Executive Order directed agencies to revise their procedures and practices in administrative investigations and enforcement in light of certain enumerated principles of fairness. It … Continue Reading
On September 14, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a final rule (“Rule”) requiring the minimum standards for anti-money laundering programs for certain institutions lacking a Federal functional regulator. The Rule applies to banks that lack a Federal functional regulator, including, but not limited to, private banks, privately … Continue Reading
On June 1, 2020, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Criminal Division released an update to its “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs” guidance for federal prosecutors, its first change since April 2019. Although the update did not fundamentally alter the structure of the guidance, the revisions directly impact how companies should assess and monitor their compliance … Continue Reading
Over the past few months, numerous organizations and agencies—including the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force, UK Financial Conduct Authority, Dubai Financial Services Authority, and U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network—have stressed the need to preserve the integrity and security of the global payments system during and after the pandemic.… Continue Reading
On April 20, 2020, the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) and its New York branch (IBKNY) (collectively, “the Bank”) entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the New York Attorney General, and a Consent Order (the “Consent … Continue Reading
On April 20, the U.S. Treasury Department said it would consider the Coronavirus pandemic’s impact of potentially reducing corporate resources as a mitigating factor in determining the appropriate response to sanctions violations. Something else was left unsaid.… Continue Reading
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently penalized a public company for violating U.S. economic sanctions. The violation cited the “books and records” and “internal controls” provisions of Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). With this unprecedented action, the SEC has put companies on notice that the Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) and … Continue Reading
The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“Division”) now considers a company’s compliance program at the charging and sentencing stages in a criminal antitrust investigation. The Division incorporated these changes into the Justice Manual. The Division also published a guide for evaluating compliance programs under this new approach.… Continue Reading
In a growing trend, the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted two corporate executives and two licensed pharmacists for drug distribution. This is the second time in 2019 that DOJ acted to hold opioid distributors and manufacturers criminally liable for contributing to the drug crisis.… Continue Reading
Russian Duma Revisits Criminalization as Counter-sanction The Russian Duma is considering a bill that would prohibit media communications that reveal non-compliance with sanctions or facilitate imposition of sanctions and would also impose criminal penalties on those that disclose or transfer information to organizations “directly or indirectly” under the control of an “unfriendly state”, any company … Continue Reading
Five months after Sigal Mandelker, Under Secretary of the US Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, presented five of the hallmarks of an effective sanctions compliance program, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has finally published long-awaited guidance for national and international organizations subject to its regulation (the Framework). OFAC is the organization responsible for administering and enforcing US economic … Continue Reading
This week, the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice released guidelines on cooperation credit in False Claims Act cases. The guidelines strongly emphasize voluntary disclosure, but also provide insight into other actions that could give rise to cooperation credit.… Continue Reading
Anti-corruption has been a hot topic in Russia for some time. But recently, the Russian government has begun to take creative approaches in the fight against corruption. These initiatives are aimed at raising public awareness of corruption among the general public. What appears to be missing in this outreach is compliance guidance to companies in … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an update to its earlier guidance on how the DOJ will evaluate the effectiveness of a company’s corporate compliance program. The updated compliance guideline (“Updated Guidance”) is twice the length of the original, and utilizes a more instructive approach, serving as a roadmap to prosecutors, and prudent companies. Although … Continue Reading
Many conclude that a C plea means a Corporate Plea. Used infrequently, a C plea restricts discretion of a federal district judge to sentence a criminal defendant. By expressing his concerns about a proposed C plea for a company, one federal judge changed the result. In an article published by the American Health Lawyers Association, … Continue Reading
The Department of Justice released new Enforcement Policy for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The revisions include a new provision that many believe impairs the use of instant messaging software and other third-party messaging apps by employees. In order to receive a declination and full credit for cooperating with investigators under the Enforcement Policy, U.S. companies … Continue Reading
Even the best laid plan for data security requires follow through. A cancer center was penalized $4.3 million by the government for failing to complete its encryption plan for devices. The decision is instructive even for companies not specifically required to protect data under government regulation. Tom Zeno and Elliot Golding of Squire Patton Boggs discuss … Continue Reading
Having looked comparatively at the approaches of certain authorities around the world to addressing and mitigating the risks associated with cryptocurrencies, our attentions now turn to the emerging position of regulators in the U.S., which is often considered the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency market. In the first two parts of this three-part post, we examined “cryptocompliance” … Continue Reading
In the first part of this three-part post, we examined “cryptocompliance” as an emerging focus of various Asian regulators, click here. Next, we analyze European (and intergovernmental) attitudes. As will become clear, there is perhaps a healthy blend on display between “cryptocaution” and “cryptofriendliness.” Countries such as the UK and France are making an effort … Continue Reading
Government uses data mining to select targets for enforcement actions. Your company can use data mining for compliance. Hear tips and insights in an eleven minute podcast in “Compliance Perspectives,” from the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE). SCCE is a member-based association providing education and news updates for ethics and compliance professionals. To listen to the podcast, click here.… Continue Reading
The United Kingdom’s National Risk Assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing in October 2015 identified three priority risks faced by the UK and concluded that a more robust enforcement response is required. These changes were to be underpinned by a partnership between the government and the private sector to effect a significant change in … Continue Reading
In June 2017 the French data protection authority, the CNIL, published a revised norm for reporting systems ( “AU-004”) that will permit the implementation of the changes recently introduced by the new French Anti-corruption Law “Sapin II” (as set out in our previous article “New French Anti-corruption Law Sapin II”). To read more about the change … Continue Reading
Summary of Compliance Guideline The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) has released guidance on how the DOJ will determine the effectiveness of a company’s corporate compliance program. The guidance, entitled Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs[1] (the “Compliance Guideline”), provides examples of topics and sample questions that are frequently … Continue Reading
From January 1, 2018, there will be an obligation on almost all employers to implement reporting/whistleblowing schemes. France has historically been very reluctant to support workplace whistleblowing, especially anonymously. Whistleblowing schemes were effectively only authorized in 2005 to permit US companies to comply with their SOX obligations. Those regulations were very restrictive, limited to employees … Continue Reading
