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
Growing up in the People’s Republic of China, I often heard the proverb, “water that is too clean has no fish.” Sadly, the adage is a rationalization for corruption. It claims that ethical business doesn’t yield profits.… Continue Reading
After conducting statistical analysis on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act penalties, it’s clear that foreign firms are paying nearly four times higher FCPA penalties as domestic U.S. firms.
In “The Extraterritorial Application of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” I explore the proposition that the U.S.… Continue Reading
Listing shares internationally often carries unwelcome regulatory and compliance risks. This was recently highlighted by the SFO’s corruption probe into the London-listed Kazakh miner ENRC, shortly to be delisted, as well as probes into Indonesia miner and London-listed Bumi plc, and most recently by the SEC’s investigation of South Africa’s Gold Fields, which has a secondary New York listing.… Continue Reading
Hobbies are important and we try to make time for ours — staring at the list of the biggest FCPA cases of all time.
Stare long enough, we’re convinced, and you can learn most of what’s important about FCPA compliance and enforcement.… Continue Reading
Building services company ABM Industries Incorporated said it has spent ‘$3.3 million of legal fees and other costs associated with an internal investigation into a foreign entity previously affiliated with a joint venture.’… Continue Reading
Thanks to the DOJ’s hyper-enforcement since 2007, the FCPA is on its way to becoming one of the most famous laws in the world.
It makes news somewhere every day — in Africa, the U.K.,… Continue Reading
Foreign corporate prosecutions can involve headline-grabbing multimillion dollar fines, international corporate scandals, and even diplomatic intrigue. Over the past two decades, federal prosecutors have focused their attention on international antitrust cartels, bribery of foreign governments, ocean dumping, and other crimes that involve corporate conduct abroad.… Continue Reading
Last year, according to the Deal Journal, about 40 Chinese companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges. If recent history is a guide, lots of them will end up in trouble with shareholders and U.S.… Continue Reading
By Ryan Morgan
Last week the DOJ filed a reply brief in U.S. v. Lindsey Manufacturing on the issue of who’s a “foreign official” under the FCPA.
The DOJ makes a compelling argument that Comisión Federal de Electricidad is not only a state-owned enterprise but essentially an agency of the Mexican government itself.… Continue Reading
By Barry Vitou and Richard Kovalevsky QC
Michael Volkov recently wrote an excellent post The UK Bribery Act: Let’s cool down the hysteria.
This year, there has been nothing short of a media frenzy in the U.K.… Continue Reading
It’s not hard to find reasons why the DOJ and SEC would rather prosecute corporations instead of individuals.
Here are a few:
… Continue ReadingCorporations can’t defend themselves. They’re strictly liable under respondeat superior for crimes committed by employees in the scope of their jobs.
Something big, very big, is happening in FCPA enforcement. The top ten FCPA settlements of all time involve penalties of $2.8 billion. The top six happened in just the past 20 months and account for 95% of that, or $2.67 billion.… Continue Reading