Energy trader Vitol to pay $164M in FCPA case
The U.S. affiliate of global energy and commodity trading company Vitol will pay approximately $164 million to settle charges of bribery, corruption, and manipulative and deceptive conduct levied by multiple regulators, including historic involvement by the CFTC
Fight against corruption must go on, even if the point is undermined
The recent decision by the Department of Justice to release from custody a dangerous Mexican general must not discourage the greater efforts of the anti-corruption community, writes Martin Woods.
SBM Offshore FCPA case ends, Swiss investigation begins
SBM Offshore confirmed it has reached the end of its three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice for FCPA violations, but the oil and gas services company is now facing a fresh corruption investigation from Swiss enforcement authorities.
CPE Webcast: Unveiling 2020 online research trends
Join Authentic8’s Jeff Phillips and Nick Finnberg, OSINT training lead and former financial crime analyst, as they discuss key takeaways from a financial crime survey of investigators from more than 150 organizations worldwide.
Lookers discloses $60.5M loss following accounting fraud probe
After delaying for eight months its 2019 audited financial statements, U.K. car dealership chain Lookers has disclosed a £45.5 million (U.S. $60.5 million) loss following discovery of accounting fraud by a former employee.
Asia corruption report cites government issues, bribery prevalence
Transparency International’s latest look at corruption and bribery trends in Asia reveals issues at the highest ranks of government, particularly at the parliamentary and senate level.
Apple’s chief security officer (and former CCO) accused of bribery
Apple Chief Security Officer Thomas Moyer, who served as the company’s chief compliance officer for nearly a decade, is facing accusations that he offered bribes in the form of iPads to California state officials in exchange for concealed firearms licenses.
Four years later, Odebrecht’s external monitorship ends
Odebrecht has reached the end of its compliance monitorship, four years after pleading guilty and resolving charges with authorities in the United States, Brazil, and Switzerland for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
2020 TRACE Bribery Matrix: U.S. falls from top 20; China on the rise
TRACE International’s 2020 Bribery Risk Matrix has the United States trending downward in multiple areas of business-related bribery risk.
OECD praises U.S. global anti-bribery enforcement efforts
In its 10-year check-in report, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development lauded U.S. enforcement authorities for continuing to be at the forefront in the global fight against corruption and offered only minor suggestions for improvements.
CPE Webcast: Eliminate payment fraud and corruption: power of AI and compliance expertise
Accounts payable, procurement, and travel and expense-management processes are common channels to route frauds making organizations susceptible to regulatory penalties, reputational damage, financial loss, and even prosecution.
e-Book: Using immersive scenarios in your financial crime training
This free e-Book considers five questions that can help when designing immersive financial crime training scenarios for learners.
Cryptocurrency’s future: What compliance needs to know
Cryptocurrency is complicated, but it’s not going away anytime soon. David Povey of the ICA takes a look at what regulators are trying to do and offers tips on where compliance officers can go to study this complex topic further.
ICA partnership offers AML education in Lithuania
The International Compliance Association announced a partnership with Kazimieras Simonavičius University in Lithuania to offer the ICA’s full suite of professional qualifications.
Survey: Machine learning will (eventually) help win the war against financial crime
While the war against financial crime wages on, machine learning and artificial intelligence may give financial institutions the upper hand, according to a recent survey.
Volkswagen CCO Kurt Michels: Tips for surviving a monitorship
Fresh off his company’s compliance monitorship, Volkswagen CCO Kurt Michels shares ways to cultivate a trustful relationship with a monitor; finesse a company’s cultural makeover; and reestablish credibility in the wake of criminal behavior.
More data, more problems with FinCEN international transfer proposal?
A recent international wire transfer rule change proposed by U.S. regulators could go a long way toward combatting terrorist financing, but the increased transaction reporting may overwhelm an already taxed system, writes Martin Woods.
Nikola discloses subpoenas over fraud allegations
Electric truck startup Nikola disclosed in a regulatory filing it has received subpoenas from the SEC and the Department of Justice regarding fraud allegations raised in a short-seller report in early September.
Embattled FirstEnergy parts with legal, ethics chiefs
Embroiled in the Ohio nuclear bailout federal corruption scandal, FirstEnergy Corp. continued to clean house with the firing of Chief Legal Officer Robert Reffner and General Counsel and Chief Ethics Officer Ebony Yeboah-Amankwah.
Pfizer facing FCPA probes into China operations
Pharmaceutical firm Pfizer announced in a recent regulatory filing that it has received requests from the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the company’s operations in China.
Julius Baer reserves $80M for FIFA corruption settlement
Julius Baer has set aside nearly $80 million in a proposed settlement with the Department of Justice regarding the agency’s corruption investigation linked to world soccer federation FIFA.
VW integrity chief: Culture has changed … and we have stress test to prove it
In a Q&A with Compliance Week, Volkswagen integrity chief Hiltrud Werner said that while compliance efforts “never have a finish line,” the company has made great strides since Dieselgate.
Bombardier cooperating with SFO corruption investigation
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office is investigating plane maker Bombardier over suspected bribery and corruption in relation to contracts and orders from Indonesian airline carrier Garuda Indonesia.
ESMA review slams German authorities’ supervision of Wirecard
A damning report by the EU’s securities markets regulator found numerous shortcomings in German authorities’ supervision of Wirecard’s financial reporting leading up to its collapse surrounding a $2 billion accounting scandal.
Working together to stop money laundering: A conversation with Marcus Pleyer
Dr. Marcus Pleyer, president of the Financial Action Task Force, emphasized his commitment to stopping money laundering in a wide-ranging and forward-looking discussion at the ICA’s BIG Compliance Festival.
CCO Philippe Vollot has a plan for Danske’s compliance reboot
Danske Bank CCO Philippe Vollot knows his journey to build a robust compliance program and culture at the troubled lender is far from over.
Airline Services Ltd to pay $3.9M, agrees to DPA in bribery case
The U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office has levied penalties worth nearly £3 million (U.S. $3.9 million) against defunct aircraft refurbishing company Airline Services Limited for violating the country’s anti-bribery laws.
e-Book: Tools, tips, and tactics for thwarting money launderers
Federal agencies are taking a hard stance on those who continue to violate the Bank Secrecy Act with a new mandate of “two strikes, and you’re out.”
CPE Webcast: Enforcement risks and compliance pitfalls for corporations
Three recent major enforcement actions related to alleged domestic bribery activity, including a $200 million deferred prosecution agreement with a major utility, may signal a renewed focus by the Department of Justice into corruption corporate interests at the state and local levels in the U.S.
Bribes, falsified records cost Beam Suntory $19.6M in FCPA settlement
Alcoholic beverage maker Beam Suntory agreed to pay $19.6 million to resolve Foreign Corrupt Practices Act charges of improper payments by its Indian subsidiary.
Goldman board demands accountability with widespread 1MDB clawbacks
The board of directors at Goldman Sachs Group will attempt to claw back approximately $174 million from a dozen current and former executives—one of the largest clawback attempts ever—in the aftermath of the 1MDB scandal.
U.K.’s SFO lays out expectations in new DPA guidance
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office has published its latest internal guidance on the threshold companies must meet before they are offered a deferred prosecution agreement.
BSA update proposal seeks more data on international transactions
FinCEN and the Federal Reserve Board have proposed lowering the threshold at which financial institutions must collect, retain, and transmit information on overseas transfers under the Bank Secrecy Act.
Purdue Pharma case more than an $8B fine
Compliance officers in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries should look beyond the $8 billion fine Purdue Pharma received from the DOJ and at the bigger enforcement trend highlighting the need for better oversight in the field.
FRC pushes for clarity on audit’s role in finding fraud
The proposed changes reflect regulatory fears that U.K. companies will be tempted to hide the scale of their financial losses as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic continue to dent balance sheets.
Compliance lessons from Goldman Sachs’ $2.9B 1MDB settlement
Jaclyn Jaeger explores compliance takeaways from Goldman Sachs’ $2.9 billion global bribery settlement for its role in the 1MDB scandal.
‘FinCEN Files’ reaction poll: Corporate culture blocks AML compliance
In the aftermath of the “FinCEN Files” leak, financial industry practitioners polled by Fenergo say changing the system needs to start within their own institutions.
Study: Financial crime compliance costs top $42B in U.S./Canada
A new study of financial crime compliance costs found spending by American and Canadian financial institutions is up sharply in 2020, driven in part by the coronavirus pandemic.
Is human trafficking financial services’ blind spot?
A new report from BAE Systems demonstrates just how far we have to go in the fight against money laundering, particularly when it comes to human trafficking.
Bitcoin platform operator fined $60M for AML violations
Larry Dean Harmon, the operator of virtual currency platforms Helix and Coin Ninja, was assessed a $60 million civil penalty by FinCEN for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing of AML regulations.
Embattled BitMEX hires chief compliance officer
On the heels of a CFTC enforcement action, cryptocurrency exchange platform BitMEX announced the appointment of Malcolm Wright as chief compliance officer of its operating company 100x Group.
Brazilian meatpacker’s FCPA settlement details widespread corruption
Brazilian company JBS, the largest meat producer in the world, and its holding company agreed to pay nearly $300 million for systemic and widespread corruption in settlements with two U.S. enforcement agencies.
Merit Medical fined $18M after ignoring CCO’s kickback warnings
The former chief compliance officer for Merit Medical Systems will be paid $2.65 million for his role in uncovering a six-year kickback scheme that paid hospitals and doctors to purchase company products.
Deutsche Bank fined $15.9M for lag in reporting suspicious transactions
A German public prosecutor levied a €13.5 million (U.S. $15.9 million) fine against Deutsche Bank for failing to report over 600 suspicious transactions in a timely manner but dropped a wider investigation related to the Danske Bank money laundering scandal.
How Danske is cleaning up after a €200B money laundering scandal
It is not clear what action Danske Bank will take on the back of its investigation into Europe’s biggest-ever money laundering scandal, but it is a safe bet to think further improving compliance will be on the list.
Back to the drawing board on transaction monitoring
In the wake of the “FinCEN Files” leaks, Martin Woods examines whether monitoring text rather than numbers in transactions could serve as a solution to our greater anti-money laundering woes.
World Bank debars Kalpataru Power Transmission for fraud
The World Bank announced the debarment of India-based Kalpataru Power Transmission for 12 months and one day for fraudulent practices connected to power development projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Egypt.
FINMA orders Banca Credinvest to improve AML measures
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority found Banca Credinvest “seriously breached” anti-money laundering regulations with regard to dealings with PDVSA in Venezuela.
Progress on beneficial ownership key to AML fight
With the British Virgin Islands vowing its commitment to a beneficial ownership public register, financial crime expert Martin Woods turns his attention toward how the U.K. and U.S. are progressing in the space.
Three tips on how to design financial crime training with impact
Simone Jones of the International Compliance Association offers three ways to get employees to both embrace financial crime training and use the knowledge learned in their daily roles.