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
Shruti J. Shah
Contributing Editor
Russell A. Stamets
Contributing Editor
Richard Bistrong
Contributing Editor
Eric Carlson
Contributing Editor
Swedish telecom Ericsson agreed Friday to pay the DOJ and SEC over $1 billion in one of the biggest Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions ever.… Continue Reading
WeWork’s parent company said in an SEC filing Wednesday for a possible IPO that its potential exposure to liability under laws such as the FCPA is likely to increase because of the way it does business.… Continue Reading
Almost all major international bribery cases involve third parties, typically commercial agents who pass on part of their commissions to government officials as bribes. As demonstrated by Richard Bistrong’s recent post, the relationship between these agents and their international clients is often psychologically complex.… Continue Reading
This week I’m traveling to the Middle East for the first time in ten years. It’s a welcome return to a region where I spent a lot of time, and where I enjoyed dealing with agents and end users.… Continue Reading
There is a long-standing debate over the benefits and drawbacks of using intermediaries to generate and retain business.
Numerous FCPA Blog posts have explained how agents and intermediaries can provide vital support to companies looking to break into foreign markets. … Continue Reading
Writing in The Guardian, the paper’s financial editor Nils Pratley recently summed up £671 million ($800 million) in fines meted out to Rolls-Royce, in the aftermath of the various corruption investigations, as “big, ugly and serious.”… Continue Reading
What is it about agents, fixers, and intermediaries that makes them so attractive while potentially toxic to multinationals?
If you haven’t spent extended time with them, it’s hard to understand.
So here’s what I shared last week at the FCPA Blog NYC Conference.… Continue Reading
International success now depends on business leaders having “the foreign policy acumen to distinguish what they can and cannot do,” according to John Chipman, the director-general and chief executive of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.… Continue Reading
A Gabonese national who was allegedly paid $3.5 million for facilitation services in Africa by hedge fund Och-Ziff was arrested this week as part of an FCPA investigation.
Unaoil described itself as an organization which “integrates western technology with global capability.”… Continue Reading
Alun Milford, SFO General Counsel (image courtesy fo the SFO)In a speech this week to compliance professionals at the European Compliance and Ethics Institute in Prague, the general counsel of the UK Serious Fraud Office talked about attorney-client privilege in connection with SFO corruption investigations.… Continue Reading
A former regional director of SAP International Inc. pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing Panamanian officials to win government technology contracts for SAP.… Continue Reading
Images courtesy of Vantage Drilling CompanyThe fallout from the Petrobras corruption scandal in Brazil keeps growing. This week there’s a new disclosure from Houston-based Vantage Drilling Company.
The drill ship operator said in an SEC filing Tuesday that an agent it used in Brazil “has entered into a plea arrangement with the Brazilian authorities in connection with the agent’s role in obtaining bribes on behalf of former Petrobras executives.”… Continue Reading