All Anti-Bribery articles – Page 10
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Blog
PetroBras Denies Potential FCPA Settlement
Image: Last week PetroBras said in an SEC filing that it is not working with U.S. regulators to end the long list of corruption charges leveled against the company. That statement is merely the latest in a long list of unusual events in the compliance spectacle that PetroBras has become, ...
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Blog
Report Shows Global Enforcement of Foreign Bribery Still Weak
Transparency International released its 11th annual OECD progress report last week. TI found that of the 41 countries that have agreed to make foreign bribery a crime for which individuals and enterprises are responsible, there is active enforcement in only four countries and little or no enforcement in 20 countries.
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Blog
Few OECD Member Countries Make Good on Anti-Bribery Pledge
Many of the member countries to the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention are not doing enough to prevent bribery and corruption, according to a new report from Transparency International. Twenty-two of the 41 signatory countries have “failed to investigate or prosecute any foreign bribery case during the last four years,” TI said. ...
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Blog
Walmart FCPA Costs Reach $675 Million
Walmart disclosed in an earnings call that its costs for potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act have well surpassed the half-billion dollar mark, reaching a whopping $675 million. To date, the retail giant has spent $63 million in total FCPA-related expenses in fiscal year 2016. Details inside.
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BNY Mellon Settles FCPA Charges for $14.8 Million
The Bank of New York Mellon has agreed to pay $14.8 million to the SEC to settle charges that the bank awarded plum internships to the relatives of Mideast government officials in exchange for business managing those countries’ sovereign wealth funds. “These officials sought, and BNY Mellon agreed to provide, ...
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The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Modern FCPA Enforcement
I recently saw the movie The Man From U.N.C.L.E. It was a rollicking good movie, stylish, set in great locations, with a fabulous score and all the Guy Ritchie touches you would expect. The action all took place in Europe and the locals and governmental cooperation among the U.S., U.K. ...
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Soma Oil & Gas Faces Corruption Probe by SFO
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office recently announced that it has opened a criminal investigation into London-based Soma Oil & Gas Holdings relating to allegations of corruption in Somalia. Soma Oil & Gas confirmed that it has been informed by the agency of the investigation. More inside.
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Blog
SciClone Could Pay SEC $12.8 Million in FCPA Case
SciClone Pharmaceuticals has disclosed in a quarterly report that it’s discussing a tentative $12.8 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve an investigation of potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act with respect to its China operations. Details inside.
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Blog
The Man From FCPA Arrives
Today, I begin a blogging series for Compliance Week as The Man From FCPA. Our goal is to provide you with up-to-date information on all things related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and anti-corruption overall. I will cover FCPA issues that have a U.S.-centric focus, and also other anti-corruption ...
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Article
Q&A: How PetroTiger Avoided FCPA Prosecution
Image: As part of our occasional series of conversations with voices in the compliance world, we caught up with Timothy Treanor, a partner with law firm Sidley Austin who represented oil and gas company PetroTiger. In June, PetroTiger became just the second company in recent history of the Foreign Corrupt ...
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Blog
New Zealand to Extend AML Efforts
In a keynote speech today at the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering in Auckland, New Zealand's Justice Minister Amy Adams said the government has begun preliminary work to extend anti-money laundering compliance obligations on more professions and companies, including lawyers, accountants, and businesses that deal in high-value goods, subjecting ...
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Article
In London, Compliance Officers in the Crosshairs
Recent cases in the United Kingdom suggest that prosecutors and regulators are increasingly willing to hold compliance officers personally liable as they wage war against corporate fraud. Inside, we look at the corruption charges brought by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office against Alstom SA and the Financial Conduct Authority’s case against ...
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Anti-Corruption Reforms Push Forward in Mexico
Mexico has moved forward again on its quest to strengthen anti-corruption laws there, adopting reforms to clear the path for government authorities to uncover and prosecute acts of corruption committed by companies, individuals, and government officials. More legislative work is ahead, but so far Mexico’s laws might even surpass the ...
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Eletrobras Investigating Possible FCPA Violations
Brazil’s state-run power company Eletrobras announced this week in a Form 6-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has hired law firm Hogan Lovells to evaluate whether the company may have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Brazil’s anti-corruption law, and Eletrobras’ Code of Ethics. Eletrobras said ...
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IAP Worldwide to Pay $7.1 Million in FCPA Case
Defense and government contracting company IAP Worldwide Services yesterday agreed to pay a $7.1 million penalty and entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice. The NPA requires IAP to “conduct a review of its existing internal controls, policies and procedures, and make any necessary modifications to ensure ...
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FIFA Fallout Has Banks Fearing Due Diligence Failures
The FIFA corruption scandal has pulled many banks—HSBC, Barclays, Citigroup, Bank of America—into its orbit, although none have tumbled into the black hole just yet. The case does, however, send a vivid message on the importance of enhanced due diligence processes. “It is not enough to know your customer,” says ...
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Report: Non-U.S. Bribery Actions Doubled Since 2012
A new report released by anti-bribery group TRACE International shows that while the United States still sets the pace for cracking down on bribery, non-U.S. enforcement actions have more than doubled since 2012, and in 2014 total non-U.S. enforcement actions concerning bribery of foreign officials outnumbered U.S. enforcement actions. Details ...
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Lessons From the BHP Billiton Case
Image: If compliance officers needed another reminder that the FCPA’s books-and-records provisions are still a dangerous trap for global businesses, look no further than the SEC’s recent $25 million fine against BHP Billiton. Observers say it offers valuable lessons in the SEC’s expansive interpretation of the law. “A check-the-box compliance ...
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FIFA Drops the Ball: Corruption and FCPA Charges
Last week, a 47-count indictment was unsealed in a federal court in Brooklyn, charging 14 defendants—all associated with the governing body of international soccer, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association—in connection with their participation in a 24-year scheme to enrich themselves through the corruption of international soccer. In a special ...
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Blog
FCA Fines Compliance Officer £200,000 in ‘Death Bonds’ Case
Image: Title: FordStewart Ford, CEO of now-defunct investment firm Keydata, has been hit with a record £75 million fine by the Financial Conduct Authority—one of the largest fines ever levied on an individual by the FCA. The British regulator also fined the firm’s sales director £4 million and its compliance ...