On October 19, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released its assessment of a $60 million civil monetary penalty against the operator of two cryptocurrency “mixers” for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”).[1] The action marks the first effort by FinCEN to target the use of these “mixers” to facilitate money laundering and … Continue Reading
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced its largest ever health care fraud and opioid enforcement action. In a coordinated effort, DOJ charged 345 defendants with more than $6 billion in fraud losses for submitting false and fraudulent claims to federal health care programs and private insurers.… Continue Reading
In light of two new US Treasury Department advisories signaling increased oversight of ransomware payments, victim companies and their third-party response teams considering making payments should follow certain due diligence and compliance best practices, write Colin Jennings, Ericka Johnson, Dylan Yépez and Elizabeth Weil Shaw in an article for Law360.… Continue Reading
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
The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) has launched a formal criminal investigation into GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and its “commercial practices”, understood to mean allegations of foreign bribery. David Green CB QC, Director of the SFO, said back in 2012 that only the largest cases, that prevented UK companies from competing for big contracts on a level … Continue Reading
Comverse Technologies Inc. (CTI), a New York based provider of software for communication and billing services, resolved Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions brought by the DOJ and SEC arising out of the acts of an indirectly owned overseas subsidiary and the subsidiary’s third party agent. CTI resolved the DOJ investigation via an NPA, … Continue Reading
In a sign of things to come, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and J&J wholly-owned subsidiaries Depuy, Inc. (DePuy) and DePuy International Limited (DePuy International) resolved corruption related investigations on both sides of the Atlantic on Friday, April 8. Conduct J&J, a New Jersey based issuer, resolved FCPA enforcement actions brought by the DOJ and SEC … Continue Reading
With the last member of the infamous TSKJ joint-venture resolving FCPA charges this week, has the DOJ finally closed the door on its very lucrative Bonny Island investigation? JGC, a Japanese company headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, resolved an FCPA enforcement action brought by the DOJ concerning JGC’s participation in the Bonny Island, Nigeria, bribery scheme. … Continue Reading
Not too long ago I was clicking through the greatly improved DOJ FCPA webpage when I stumbled onto an enforcement action that had flown under the anticorruption/compliance blogosphere’s radar. Yes, Manuel Salvoch had escaped the dreaded DOJ press release, but not the Fraud Section’s posting of documents for the world to see. It was only … Continue Reading
On Friday, March 11, Jeffrey Tesler, who had challenged extradition from the UK to the US, relented in his fight and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and one substantive violation of an FCPA antibribery provision. In 2009, the DOJ initially charged Tesler in an 11 count indictment consisting of … Continue Reading
Recently, we wrote about the 2010 enforcement environment. Today’s post looks forward to 2011 and some things to keep an eye out for in the coming year. Without further ado: Prosecutions of Individuals. In 2010 we saw a significant number of individuals prosecuted for FCPA and related violations. A number of defendants resolved their prosecutions … Continue Reading
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer so stated at the American Conference Institute’s 24th National Conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) late last year. The recent actions of the DOJ and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the FCPA’s dual enforcers, backed up AAG Breuer’s words. The DOJ … Continue Reading
