Richard Bistrong | Contributing Editor
Richard Bistrong spent his career as an international sales executive and currently consults, writes and speaks on foreign bribery and compliance issues from that front-line perspective.
He was named to Compliance Week’s list of Top Minds in 2017 and was one of Ethisphere’s 100 Most Influential in Business Ethics in 2015.
Richard was the vice president of international sales for a large, publicly traded defense supplier, which included residing in the UK and extensive overseas travel.
In 2007, as part of a cooperation agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and subsequent Immunity from Prosecution in the UK, Richard assisted the U.S., UK, and other governments in understanding how FCPA and other bribery and export violations occurred in international sales.
In 2012, after the collapse of the Africa Sting prosecution, Richard was sentenced as part of his own plea agreement, and served fourteen-and-a-half months at a U.S. federal prison camp.
He holds an MA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia.
Richard writes about current anti-bribery and compliance issues at www.richardbistrong.com. Information about his consulting practice, Front-Line Anti-Bribery LLC, can also be found on that website.
Recent Posts
Richard Bistrong: How do you come back from something like that?
When I was in the Federal Prison Camp at Lewisburg, I had a lot of time to read. I finished sixty-five books in sixty-two weeks.
Richard Bistrong: The FCPA helps define our role as global corporate citizens
In December 2015, I wrote about spending two Thanksgivings in federal prison. Even now, after being out of prison for twice the time I spent there, I know I’ll never forget the separation from friends and loved ones.
Richard Bistrong: Let’s have a really uncomfortable conversation
Having recently returned from three weeks of corporate engagements and conferences across nine time zones, I should be exhausted, but instead I’m exhilarated.
Resource Alert: Mastercard training video now available to everyone
Companies often ask me to record video for internal training. They want real-world stories of corruption and commerce which they can embed into an existing on-line anti-bribery compliance training.
Richard Bistrong: Why foreign bribery and accounting fraud happen together
Alere Inc. paid more than $13 million last week to settle SEC charges of accounting fraud and overseas bribery. Embedded in the details are some very meaningful lessons for compliance leaders, and even more importantly, for business leaders. Those real-world lessons are about the accounting fraud.
What does Paul Pelletier really think about DPAs, individual prosecutions, and the DOJ?
Pepper Hamilton’s Paul PelletierThe Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives by Jesse Eisinger talks about what has brought us to present-day enforcement challenges and controversies.
Resource Alert: Real-world compliance training video from Mastercard
Companies often ask me to record video for internal training. They want real-world stories of corruption and commerce which they can embed into an existing on-line anti-bribery compliance training.
Richard Bistrong finds his flow
In Finding Flow, author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi said “flow tends to occur when a person’s skills are fully involved in overcoming a challenge that is just about manageable.”
Richard Bistrong: No, the Baptiste case isn’t another Africa sting
The DOJ announced last week that a retired U.S. Army colonel, Joseph Baptiste, was charged in a complaint for his alleged role in a foreign bribery and money laundering scheme in connection with “a planned $84 million port development project in Haiti.”
Frances McLeod: How to deal with the mess known as EU to U.S. data transfer law
Frances McLeod, a founding partner of Forensic Risk Alliance, is spending a lot of time helping clients deal with EU privacy and data protection issues.