Image: Layne Christensen Co. joined the FCPA enforcement hall of shame this week; it was fined $5.1 million for various bribery infractions in Africa in the 2000s. Its aggressive investigation efforts won praise from regulators, but the root of the company’s problem—weak internal control over financial reporting—is still the far harder challenge for companies to overcome. Editor Matt Kelly has his analysis inside.
Anti-Bribery
Posted inAnti-Bribery
U.K. Businesses in Spotlight in Massive Money Laundering Scheme
Image: Title: ClarkeOct. 22—An investigative report published last week by The Independent revealed that 19 businesses registered in the United Kingdom are under suspicion for involvement in a complex money laundering scheme that cleaned £12.5 billion in illicit money over four years. The report cited corporate secrecy laws that make the United Kingdom an attractive center for money laundering, and it noted efforts to right the situation. Former U.K. Fraud Squad Director David Clarke told the paper, “…at the moment we’re still handing it on a silver platter to the villains.” More inside.
Posted inAnti-Bribery
Many Countries, One Compliance Approach
The Compliance Week Europe conference, an annual event held last week in Brussels, drew attendees from 22 countries, many of whom represented companies that do business in an even greater number of nations. Building and maintaining an effective compliance program that is consistent across multinational borders is not an easy feat, but more companies are […]
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For FCPA Compliance, Don’t Forget the Internal Controls
They have been there all along, hiding in plain sight: the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act requirements for internal controls. The problem is that most compliance practitioners have not been reading them too carefully. What are internal controls in a FCPA compliance program? Aaron Murphy, a partner at Akin Gump and author of “Foreign Corrupt Practices […]
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Mapping Third-Party Risks
Many third-party risk-management efforts start with the goal of providing full visibility over a company’s universe of third-party relationships. The trouble is that many companies still don’t have a firm grasp on how to achieve that transparency, or even where to begin, exposing themselves to significant legal and compliance risks. “Companies often underestimate their universe […]
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Sanofi Launches Bribery Probe
Yet another company in the pharmaceutical industry is investigating allegations of bribery and corruption, and this time it is French drug company Sanofi. Sanofi said it is conducting an internal investigation amid allegations made by a whistleblower that employees bribed doctors in the Middle East and East Africa between 2007 and 2012, encouraging them to […]
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U.K.’s Anti-Corruption Efforts Raising Questions
Questions have begun percolating over the state of the United Kingdom’s anti-corruption efforts, with a reported plan to break up its national fraud-fighting office and speculation over the whereabouts of the U.K.’s promised national plan to combat corruption. While the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office had cause for celebration this week with its first victory in […]
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Justice Department Official Stresses Compliance Hallmarks, Failures
Image: Title: MillerYet another Justice Department official is emphasizing the importance of effective compliance programs, this time in the context of avoiding a bribery and corruption probe. In a speech last week, Marshall Miller, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division, said: “The failure to expand compliance programs to meet the needs of growing corporations, particularly global corporations, drives many of the compliance problems we have seen.” More inside.
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Supreme Court Denies Challenge to FCPA Definition of ‘Foreign Official’
The U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to hear a landmark case that would have helped clarify the definition of “foreign official” under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The decision to deny the cert petition effectively upholds the government’s broad view of who qualifies as a foreign official under the FCPA—at least, for now. In […]
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Trends in Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Compliance
The trinity of requirements that sit at the center of financial institutions’ customer due diligence efforts—anti-money laundering, know your customer, and sanctions compliance—are growing more complex in an interconnected world plagued by financial crime, terrorism, and tax evasion. While regulators want greater efforts to ensure the transparency of customer data, banks themselves are struggling with […]
