All Department of Justice articles – Page 44
-
Article
Compliance lessons from VimpelCom
Image: Ethics, compliance, and audit executives have yet another real-life bribery case to add to their growing library of epic anti-corruption compliance failures—this one resulting in the sixth largest Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action of all time. “This case demonstrates a failure of internal controls at every turn,” says ...
-
Blog
VimpelCom to pay $795 million for FCPA violations
Amsterdam-based VimpelCom, a global telecommunication services provider, and its wholly owned Uzbek subsidiary, Unitel, yesterday reached a combined $795 million settlement with the U.S. and Dutch prosecutors for paying bribes to a government official in Uzbekistan, making it one of the largest global foreign bribery resolutions ever. VimpelCom will pay ...
-
Blog
PTC to pay $28 million in FCPA case
Two China subsidiaries of computer software company PTC this week reached a combined $28 million settlement—a $14.5 million criminal penalty to the Department of Justice, and $13.6 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest to the Securities and Exchange Commission—to resolve an investigation of potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices ...
-
Blog
SBM Offshore: Justice Department reopens bribery probe
Dutch oil and gas company SBM Offshore announced this week that the U.S. Department of Justice has re-opened its past bribery investigation of the company concerning allegations of improper payments made to sales agents and foreign government officials in Equatorial Guinea, Angola, and Brazil.
-
Blog
Justice Department: companies will have to certify investigation disclosures
The Department of Justice’s Fraud Section has confirmed that it is working on developing a new policy whereby settling companies will soon have certify that they have, in fact, disclosed fully all information about individuals involved in wrongdoing before finalizing a settlement agreement. The new policy in the making signals ...
-
Blog
SciClone to Pay SEC $12.8 Million in FCPA Case
SciClone Pharmaceuticals announced that it has entered into a $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. SciClone further said that the Department of Justice has also completed its related ...
-
Article
New Sentencing Guidelines Could Alter Fraud Prosecutions
Image: Several important changes to the federal Sentencing Guidelines could drastically reduce the sentences imposed for violations of fraud and antitrust laws, even as the Justice Department heightens its focus on prosecuting individuals in corporate misconduct cases. “Some of the changes in the Sentencing Guidelines are a step in the ...
-
Blog
U.S. Sues Volkswagen Over Clean Air Act Violations
Image: The Department of Justice, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, today filed a civil complaint against Volkswagen over allegations that Volkswagen violated the Clean Air Act by installing illegal defeat devices that impaired emission control systems in nearly 600,000 diesel engine vehicles. In a statement, Barbara McQuade, U.S. ...
-
Blog
PTC Could Pay $28.2 Million in FCPA Case
Computer software company PTC disclosed in an annual report last week that it is discussing a tentative $28.2 million settlement with the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve an investigation of potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The potential violations concern expenditures by ...
-
Article
Parsing the Role of the New Compliance Counsel
Image: Now that the Justice Department has named Hui Chen, former global head of anti-bribery and corruption at Standard Chartered Bank, as its first-ever compliance counsel, corporations under investigation by the department can expect a more nuanced analysis of their compliance programs. Inside, we review what Chen has disclosed so ...
-
Blog
Justice Department Revises U.S. Attorneys’ Manual
Image: During remarks at the American Banking Association and American Bar Association Money Laundering Enforcement Conference, Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates announced that the Department of Justice has made some significant revisions to its U.S. Attorneys’ Manual, providing new insight on how prosecutors are implementing the Yates Memo. “We ...
-
Blog
Alstom Sentenced to Pay $772 Million FCPA Fine
U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton of the District of Connecticut has sentenced French power and transportation giant Alstom to pay a record $772 million criminal penalty to the Department of Justice to resolve charges over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The sentence marks the largest criminal fine ...
-
Blog
Crawford & Company Self-Reports FCPA Investigation
Crawford & Company said yesterday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has launched an internal investigation into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The claims management company also said it has voluntarily self-reported the potential FCPA violations to the SEC and the Department ...
-
Article
Latest Review of False Claims Act Compliance
Image: The Justice Department has settled a spate of False Claims Act cases with healthcare providers this fall, pointing to several important trends in FCA cases: increased scrutiny on physician payment arrangements, the broadening scope of whistleblowers, and an upsurge in FCA settlement amounts. “Enforcement agencies are aggressively using all ...
-
Blog
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Discloses FCPA Probe
Alexion Pharmaceuticals said this week in a securities filing that it is being investigated by the Department of Justice concerning potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. As previously disclosed, Alexion received a subpoena in May in connection with an investigation by the SEC’s Enforcement Division “requesting information related ...
-
Blog
Justice Department Ends Bristol-Myers Squibb FCPA Probe
The Department of Justice has ended its investigation into allegations that pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Earlier this month the company reached a $14 million settlement with the SEC for FCPA violations relating to certain sales and marketing practices in China. More inside.
-
Blog
Surviving the Jolt of the Yates Memo
An earthquake in the world of FCPA enforcement happened in September, when “the Yates Memo” arrived and heralded a new era of pursuing individuals responsible for corporate misconduct. This week, columnist Tom Fox dissects some of the implications for compliance officers—including the threat that from here forward, the interests of ...
-
Blog
Kinross Gold: Justice Department and SEC Probing West Africa Payments
Kinross Gold, a Canada-based gold mining company, said last week that it is under investigation by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission concerning allegations of improper payments made to government officials and certain internal control deficiencies at its West Africa mining operations. More inside.
-
Blog
Adventist Health to Pay $115 Million for False Claims Act Violations
Adventist Health System, a non-profit healthcare organization that operates hospitals and other health care facilities in 10 states, this week agreed to pay $115 million to the government to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by maintaining improper compensation arrangements with referring physicians and by miscoding claims. ...
-
Article
Navigating Global Internal Investigations Under Main Justice’s New Policy
Image: The Justice Department’s new Yates Memo, demanding much more cooperation from companies to find individual wrongdoers, will pressure companies to pressure employees during internal investigations. In Europe and elsewhere, however, the law favors employees much more than in the United States, making global investigations a tall order. “Most developed ...