All articles by Jaclyn Jaeger – Page 96
-
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
Olympus to pay $623.2 million for kickback scheme
Olympus Corporation of the Americas, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan-based Olympus, will pay $623.2 million to resolve criminal charges and civil claims relating to a scheme to pay kickbacks to doctors and hospitals—the largest total amount paid in U.S. history for violations involving the Anti-Kickback Statute by a medical device ...
-
Article
Healthcare, ransomware, and effective cyber-security hygiene
Imagine this: You’re a large healthcare provider whose staff is having trouble accessing vital records in your hospital’s computer network. Your IT department begins an immediate investigation and determines the cause to be a malware attack. Worse yet, the attackers are demanding ransom to obtain the decryption key. How do ...
-
Blog
FINRA: establishing and implementing cultural values
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority issued new guidance on what firms will be expected to discuss regarding their firm’s cultural values. FINRA plans to meet with business, compliance, legal, and risk executives to discuss how to communicate and reinforce values. “We are particularly interested in how your firm measures compliance ...
-
BlogCiti receives subpoena in FIFA probe
A Citigroup securities filing says the company is under investigation in connection with the bribery, corruption, and money laundering scandal that toppled leadership of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the international governing body of professional soccer. As Compliance Week previously reported, financial institutions can expect to be in the ...
-
Blog
SEC probing hiring practices of HSBC and many other banks
London-based HSBC said in an earnings release last week that it is one of several banks being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its hiring practices in Asia. Hiring a family member or friend of a government official violates the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act if the intent ...
-
Blog
FinCEN withdraws three findings and proposed rulemakings under PATRIOT Act
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network this week said it is withdrawing three findings and related proposed rulemakings under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act, after having determined that the subjects of the rulemakings no longer pose a money laundering threat to the U.S. financial system.
-
ArticleMitigating third-party risks
Most companies by now understand the escalating risks that third parties pose to their business and are ramping up their third-party risk management efforts accordingly. Even still, many struggle with how to achieve full transparency into the breadth and depth of their third parties, exposing themselves to significant legal and ...
-
Article
U.K. ruling expands scope of anti-corruption enforcement
Image: In a first-of-its-kind ruling, the Criminal Division of the U.K. Court of Appeal ruled that bribery of foreign officials was, indeed, illegal prior to 2002, marking a notable victory for the Serious Fraud Office in its escalating battle against bribery and corruption. ““Anybody thinking that prosecution under these pre-Bribery ...
-
BlogVimpelCom 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 ...
-
BlogEU implements plan to prevent falsified medicines
The European Medicines Agency and the European Commission have published a plan to prevent falsified medicines from entering the market. The regulation introduces two safety features: a unique identifier and an anti-tampering device to be placed on the packaging of most medicines. “The safety features will help protect European citizens ...
-
Article
Compliance lessons in the healthcare sector
When enforcement actions against healthcare or life sciences companies arise, many choose to settle their cases prior to litigation, often resulting in a corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. By carefully scrutinizing these agreements, compliance and audit teams in the healthcare ...
-
Article
Mitigating auditor liability
Image: Audit committee and external auditors who fail to reasonably carry out their responsibilities increasingly are finding themselves in the crosshairs of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Over the past few years, the staff has really put a lot of focus into financial reporting and auditing enforcement matters. That means ...
-
Blog
General Cable sets aside $28 million for bribery case
General Cable said last week in an earnings release that it has set aside an estimated charge of $28 million that it believes the Securities and Exchange Commission likely will disgorge from profits derived from sales tainted by improper payments made in several countries. As previously disclosed, General Cable said ...
-
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
Morgan Stanley hit with $2.6 billion penalty
The Justice Department yesterday announced that Morgan Stanley will pay a $2.6 billion penalty to resolve claims related to Morgan Stanley’s marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities. This settlement constitutes the largest component resolutions with Morgan Stanley entered by members of the RMBS Working Group, which have ...
-
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 ...
-
Article
Regulating the way to equal pay
Image: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission this month proposed two controversial pay equity reporting requirements that effectively would impose burdensome new compensation collection obligations on companies with at least 100 employees, and federal contractors with at least 50 employees, starting in 2017. “This information will assist employers in evaluating their ...
-
ArticlePreventing a payment card hack
Point of sales systems are the weak link in the chain when it comes to retail cyber-security. Recent data breaches at a number of prominent companies—including three in January alone—highlight the ever-increasing stakes for any organization responsible for handling customer data. Increasingly this is an issue that a strong compliance ...