Richard L. Cassin | Editor at large
Richard L. Cassin is the founder of the FCPA Blog. He serves as editor at large.
He has been named multiple times as one of the 100 Most Influential People In Business Ethics by Ethisphere Magazine. He was named a Trust Across America 2019 Top Thought Leader in Trust.
Cassin’s articles about corruption and compliance have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Business Times (Singapore), New England Law Review, and many other leading publications. His opinions about FCPA enforcement have been cited recently by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Business Week, Variety, Bloomberg’s news wire, Reuters, NPR, Fox News, CNN, and others.
He was a senior partner in a major international law firm and the head of its Asia practice.


Recent Posts

At Large: The world can’t agree on who’s a PEP. That’s a good thing
For compliance professionals and the programs they run, politically exposed persons are a big deal. PEPs trigger money laundering and corruption concerns and therefore attract

At Large: How chief compliance officers became today’s ‘super executives’
The DOJ released the first version of its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs in 2017. That document (with its 2019 and 2020 updates) completed the

At Large: Strong CEOs with weak boards are the biggest compliance risk
The current troubles at McDonald’s Corp. — involving allegations that former CEO Steve Easterbrook had improper relationships with several employees, and that he and the

FinCEN issues new AML enforcement guidance
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network or FinCEN released new guidance this month that sets out its approach to enforcement practices and reassures financial

At Large: Are China companies beyond the reach of the FCPA?
Here’s a head-scratcher. China is the country mentioned most often in FCPA enforcement actions — 63 times by my count. And yet, only one PRC-headquartered

At Large: Is this why nobody talks about the FCPA extortion defense?
Critics and supporters shower attention on the FCPA’s affirmative defenses for local law and promotional expenses. And the facilitating payments exception is a rich vein

Russian anti-graft fighter Alexei Navalny on ventilator after suspected poisoning
Russia’s most prominent opposition leader and anti-corruption campaigner, Alexei Navalny, was reported Thursday to be critically ill after an apparent poisoning while on a flight

DOJ issues first FCPA advisory opinion in six years
The Justice Department issued an FCPA Opinion Procedure Release Friday, the first new release since November 2014, advising a U.S.-based investment advisor that fees paid

At Large: The cobra effect is an enemy of compliance
I had a simple (and unoriginal) thought years ago that has helped me understand why compliance can be so difficult. My thought was that people

Here’s the list of OFAC-sanctioned Hong Kong officials
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on 11 Hong Kong officials Friday, including the territory’s head of state, for “undermining Hong