News and commentary about white-collar crime, enforcement, and compliance
Harry Cassin
Publisher and Editor
Andy Spalding
Senior Editor
Jessica Tillipman
Senior Editor
Bill Steinman
Senior Editor
Richard L. Cassin
Editor at Large
Elizabeth K. Spahn
Editor Emeritus
Cody Worthington
Contributing Editor
Julie DiMauro
Contributing Editor
Thomas Fox
Contributing Editor
Marc Alain Bohn
Contributing Editor
Bill Waite
Contributing Editor
Russell A. Stamets
Contributing Editor
Richard Bistrong
Contributing Editor
Eric Carlson
Contributing Editor
Last week we reported here about the civil suit filed in the U.S. District Court in D.C. by Colorado-based oilman Jack Grynberg, 76, against BP, Statoil and British Gas, along with some of their current or former top executives. The core allegation is that the defendants, without Grynberg’s knowledge and using some of his money, […]
During this season of Thanksgiving, the folks at Norway’s Statoil ASA will be celebrating the end of the company’s three-year deferred prosecution agreement — and the Justice Department’s public announcement about it here. In 2006, Statoil (which trades on the NYSE under the symbol STO) was charged with violating the anti-bribery and accounting provisions of […]
The British press is reporting (here and here) that oil giant BP and its current and former CEOs, Tony Hayward and Lord Browne, as well as Norway’s Statoil and its CEO, are among the defendants named in a civil lawsuit involving allegations of bribery of government officials in Kazakhstan. The suit was filed in the […]
Health care giant Johnson & Johnson will pay more than $2.2 billion to resolve criminal and civil claims arising from allegations of kickbacks to U.S. doctors and improper marketing claims about three of its prescription drugs.
Iran has all the ingredients to be an FCPA minefield. It’s big — 66 million people in an area about the size of Alaska — and it’s the world’s 6th largest oil producer. On top of that, it has a corruption problem, ranking near the bottom of the latest Corruption Perception Index — 168th, tied […]
Here’s a chilling warning to company lawyers who may become involved in FCPA investigations.
Jack Grynberg: “I have been pursuing fraud in the energy industry for the past 15 years.”Colorado-based independent oilman Jack Grynberg filed a 311-page complaint in December with the European Commission. He’s asking for an investigation into alleged bribery and tax evasion in Kazakhstan by several oil companies he once partnered with. His claims relate to […]
Disgorging profits is a common and prominent feature these days in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act settlements with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Last year Siemens disgorged $350 million and this year KBR paid $177 million. Maybe because disgorgements now happen so often, or because the payments have become so enormous, we automatically accept them as […]
Bob Beamon’s long jump of 29 feet 2½ inches in Mexico City in the 1968 Olympics broke the world record by an astounding 21¾ inches. With that one jump Beamon became the first man to reach both 28 and 29 feet, and the word Beamonesque was born — meaning a spectacular event. We’d describe Siemens’ […]
Our singular focus over the past week moved our spouse to ask whether we also plan to redo the walls in Siemens Blue. We’re considering it. But what really comes to mind after the biggest FCPA enforcement action in history is that it involves not a U.S. company — not a Boeing or an Exxon […]