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FCPA Compliance Report

Tom Fox has practiced law in Houston for 30 years and now brings you the FCPA Compliance and Ethics Report. Learn the latest in anti-corruption and anti-bribery compliance and international transaction issues, as well as business solutions to compliance problems.
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Now displaying: Category: compliance commentary
Nov 2, 2018

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Maryland football coach DJ Durkin fired one day after Systems Board of Regents reinstated him. (New York Times)
  • Big news in the 1MDB scandal. Tim Leissner pleads guilty. Roger Ng and Jho Low are indicted. (FCPA Blog)
  • New study shows the monetary cost for reputational damages. (WSJ Risk and Compliance Journal)
  • Leslie Caldwell and Christopher Ting aver compliance is still critical to the DOJ. (Law360)
  • Adventures in Compliance looks at Sherlock Holmes as a teacher. (Compliance Podcast Network)
Nov 1, 2018

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • The Danske Bank AS whistleblower has been released from his NDA and will testify before the Danish and EU Parliaments. (Bloomberg)
  • If a whistleblower rings, is anyone listening? (MVolkov)
  • Yet another former PdVSA procurement officer, has pled guilty to AML charges in connection with bribery and corruption. (DOJ Press Release)
  • Former national KPMG Partner-in-Charge of Inspections has pled guilty to all five counts against him for stealing data on inspections from the PCAOB. (MarketWatch)
  • Adventures in Compliance looks at A Study in Scarlet and CCOs exercising power. (Compliance Podcast Network)
Oct 28, 2018

In the Episode, I visit with Yvette Lingom, Associate Director, Programming at C5 Communications Ltd. We discuss the opening of the nomination process for C5’s Women in Compliance Awards which are presented annually in conjunction with the Women in Compliance conference put on by the organization. They honor individuals, teams and their companies of all type and size worldwide for the very best initiatives, compliance innovations and enthusiasms to drive the commitment to compliance within their organizations at all times. 

Now in their sixth year, these Awards are well-respected accolades bestowed on the compliance industry and those that advise it; and will once again bring together more than 400 compliance professionals from across the globe. Some of our podcast topics include:

--What was the genesis of the Women in Compliance Awards?

--We discuss several of the categories in the awards, including Compliance Officer of the Year for large, medium and small entities; Compliance Innovator of the Year; Compliance Mentor of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award and several others.

--There are also team awards for various compliance teams which are led by women.

--We discuss the nomination and selection process and the awards ceremony.

--The Women in Compliance awards are presented in conjunction with the Women in Compliance conference put on by C5 at the same time.    

To find out more about the Women in Compliance Awards and (hopefully) nominate someone, click here.

To find out more about the Women in Compliance, to be held in London on March 27-28, 2019, click here.

Oct 26, 2018

The Boston Red Sox thrash the LA Dodgers in the first two games of the World Series. Will they sweep the NL champs? The New England Patriots are back on top of their division. Is Jay heading for a fall? The lads regroup after the 2018 SCCE, Compliance and Ethics Institute to look at some of the week’s top compliance and ethics stories. 

  1. Tom and Jay reflect on the just concluded SCCE 2018 Compliance and Ethics Institute. Matt Kelly blogs on Roy Snell’s retirement and random thoughtson Radical Compliance.
  2. Tom is shocked, simply shocked to find out there is money paid to top athletes to atend certain colleges to play sports. Where was the NCAA? See reports in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustratedand ESPN.
  3. Can some purloined notebooks lead to a bigger car wash? Waithera Junghae writes about how notebooks from a driver could break open a massive corruption scandal in Argentina. In GIR(sub req’d)
  4. Do you have Chinese companies in your supply chain? You’d better wake up to the risk. Jaclyn Jaeger reports in Compliance Week. (sub req’d) Speaking of supply chains, Mike Volkov says they can do good, in the Corruption, Crime and Compliance
  5. When Louis Sapirman speaks, you should listen. Adam Dobrik reports on Sapirman’s SCCE CEI talk in GIR. (Sub req’d)
  6. Got a compliance or governance question? Then “Ask Amii” as Amii Bernard-Bahn opens a mailbag column on Compliance Weekwhere she answers your compliance and governance questions.
  7. Jonathan Marks talks corporate goverance common sense. Will Board’s listen? Check out his latest in his BoardandFraudblog posting.
  8. Did Goldman Sachs muzzle a whistleblower from going to the SEC? Emily Flitter reports in the New York Times.
  9. Looking for the top training on how to operationalize your compliance program? Tom announces a new Compliance Master Class to be held in NYC November 12 & 13, hosted by Jonathan Marks and Baker Tilly. For agenda, more information and registration details click here.
  10. Want to attend a top compliance conference but have no travel budget? Navex Global has the answer for you with its virtual conference. Check out details and registration here.

For more information on how an independent monitor can help improve your company’s ethics and compliance program, visit our sponsor Affiliated Monitors at www.affiliatedmonitors.com.

Oct 24, 2018

Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. In this episode, Matt Kelly and I take a deep dive the upcoming Navex Global Virtual Conference, which is scheduled for Thursday, November 8.   

Some of the highlights from this podcast are:

  1. We take a look at the speakers and the topics of the event. There are four focus areas which will help you move your compliance program forward.
  2. We consider the advantages of a virtual conference for the compliance practitioner.
  3. The format will be both key note speeches, focused one-hour nuts and bolts presentations and lengthy Q&A. One or all three should work for you.
  4. Best of all the Navex Virtual Conference is free.

For registration and agenda go to Navex Global.

Full disclosure: Matt and myself both write for Navex Global.

Oct 22, 2018

In the Episode, I visit with Dave Lefort, the Editor in Chief of Compliance Week. We visit on Dave’s route as a journalist and online sports leader to compliance. We discuss some of his new initiatives at Compliance Week and the upcoming Compliance Week virtual open House. Some of the highlights include: 

--How Dave’s work at ESPN as part of the company’s efforts to bring a greater, more robust and personalized online experience to the sports fan have informed some of his approaches to his editorship of Compliance Week.

--One of the changes Lefort has led is moving the Compliance Week magazine to a bi-monthly issue schedule, allowing a deeper dive through special report. In this most recent issue, there is a deep dive look at technological solutions in compliance. We discuss some of the key themes and articles in this issue.

--Compliance Week is hosting a virtual Open House from October 22-26, allowing non-subscribers to get behind the firewall to check out some of the great context available in blogs, articles, magazines, podcasts and editorial pieces. It is a great opportunity to see what Compliance Week has to offer to you.  

To check out the free offer of the Compliance Week Open House, check out the Compliance Week website here.

Oct 19, 2018

The Boston Red Sox storm into the World Series after defeating the Houston Astros in the ALCS. Will the team with the best record in baseball take home the trophy this year? Jay and Tom (well really just Jay) hit the highlights from the Sox 4-1 shellacking of Houston. Tom takes his medicine as they take a look at some of the week’s top compliance and ethics stories. 

  1. The Benczkowski Memo continues to be sliced and diced. Tom had two posts on it, an overview and what it means for compliance practitioners. Channelling his inner cynical journalist, Matt takes a dim view of it on Radical Compliance. Tom and Matt hash it out on Compliance into the Weeds. Dick Cassin reports in the FCPA Blog. Sam Rubenfeld reports in the Wall Street Journal Risk and Compliance Journal.
  2. Is your country trustworthy. Barbara Brooks Kimmel on the TrustAcrossAmerica on the 2018 Country Trust Index in the FCPA Blog.
  3. The SEC says companies need better controls to stop phising expeditions. Ezequiel Minaya reports in the WSJ. Doug Cornelius weighs in on his Compliance Building. Kevin Lacroix looks at it from the insurance angle in his D&O Diary.
  4. Mike Volkov channels his inner Moody Blues when he saws CCOS are on the see-saw. It's a balancing act for every CCO in Corruption, Crime and Compliance.
  5. Continuing his tipping point theme, Mike Volkov says we are at a tipping point for 3rdparty risk management. In Navex Global’s Compliance and Ethics Matters Also check out Navex Global’s 2018 Third-Party Risk Management Benchmark Report here.
  6. The International Forum on Business Ethical Conduct recently published guidelines for model business courtesies and hospitality. Kelvin Stroud writes about it in the FCPA Blog.
  7. A Yank in the SFO? Not really, as she is British born but American bred head. Lisa Osofsky, new head of the UK Serious Fraud Office returns to the colonies to talk about enforcement of the SFO going forward. Reported in NYU’s Compliance and Enforcement
  8. Looking for the top training on how to operationalize your compliance program? Tom announces a new Compliance Master Class to be held in NYC November 12 & 13, hosted by Jonathan Marks and Baker Tilly. For agenda, more information and registration details click here.
  9. Want to attend a top compliance conference but have no travel budget? Navex Global has the answer for you with its virtual conference. Check out details and registration here.
  10. Tom premiered a new podcast series, Adventures in Compliancewhich explores the intersection of Sherlock Holmes and Compliance. The first five episodes were released this week and are available on iTunes, Libsyn, JDSupra and this site. They were the Red Circle and Communications; the Abbey Grange and Institutional Justice; the Priory School and Criminality; the Six Napoleons and Mentoringand the Empty House and Imagination in Compliance.
  11. Will you be attending the SCCE 2018 Compliance and Ethics Institute? If so let’s connect. Jay is hosting his annual Orphan’s Dinner on Saturday night if you are getting there early. Give him a shout to connect.
  12. World Series predictions? 

For more information on how an independent monitor can help improve your company’s ethics and compliance program, visit our sponsor Affiliated Monitors at www.affiliatedmonitors.com.

Oct 17, 2018

Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. In this episode, Matt Kelly and I take a deep dive into the Benczkowski Memo and what it means for not only the monitor selection process but for compliance officers who may be in front of the Justice Department in a FCPA investigation.   

Some of the highlights from this podcast are:

  1. Will there be corporate monitors going forward?
  2. Tom argues this memo sets out a road map for any company under FCPA investigation to avoid a monitor.
  3. Matt wonders if this memo will assuage mergers and acquisition liability for inadequate pre-acquisition due diligence.

We unpack of all these points and consider strategies going forward.

For more reading: see Matt’s piece New DOJ Policy on Corporate Monitors and see Tom’s blog posts Astros Heading to Back-to-Back as DOJ Announces New Monitor Policy and Back-to-Back (again): More on the Benczkowski Memo.

 

Oct 15, 2018

In the Episode, I visit with Eric Feldman, Senior Vice President at Affiliated Monitors, Inc.  Eric and I discuss some of your reflections, observations and highlights from the Converge18 conference with recently concluded in Denver. Some of the highlights include: 

--The conference focused on the action piece of what compliance professionals need to accomplish.

--A key theme which literally began on the first keynote on the first day, from Patrick Quinlan, CEO of Convercent was organizational justice. Feldman believes that this is not enough discussed at compliance conferences as it serves as a foundation for credibility of senior leadership in an organization and helps drive a strong ethical culture throughout a company.

--Another interesting concept discussed by Feldman and myself was brand reputation and brand protection, another key theme at the conference. General Counsel and legal departments are tasked with brand protection but in this case of hyper-social media, that strategy may well lead to loss of brand reputation. A compliance professional should work to enhance brand reputation and move your brand forward, not simply circle the wagons.   

For other reviews of Converge18 see Tom Fox’s blog post on the FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog, Reflections on Converge18and Matt Kelly’s blog post on Radical Compliance Dispatches from Converge 2018.

Oct 12, 2018

The reigning World Series Champions, the Houston Astros storm into the ALCS with a sweep of Cleveland.  The team with the best record in baseball, the Boston Red Sox destroy the Yankees. The ALCS opens Saturday in Boston and comes to Houston Tuesday. Will the top podcasting duo in compliance survive? Also, Tom and Jay discuss and take a look at some of the week’s top compliance and ethics stories.

  1. What are the lessons from Styker and Petrobras about customers and the FCPA?. Tom explored in two blog separate blog series. Petrobras Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3. Stryker Part 1 and Part 2.  
  2. It really is about the culture. Mike Volkov explains a new eBook, published by Corporate Compliance Insight. Available here and here.
  3. Where was she when Jay was selling shoes? Wife of ex-banker spends $21 million at Harrod’s. Dick Cassin reports in the FCPA Blog.
  4. Remember when kids with glasses were called ‘four-eyed’? Turns out having four eyes is a good thing. Jonathan Marks explains on Board and Fraud
  5. Use of internal investigations in government prosecutions just got tougher. Stewart Bishop reports in Law360 (sub req’d).
  6. Its sanctions week on the Risk and Compliance Journal (not really it just seems that way). Sam Rubenfeld reports on a Turkish firm and North Korea, Saudia Arabia and Magnitsky Act, a Lebanese businessman and Iran and a JPMorgan fine, Margot Patrick and Aruna Viswanatha report on the massive Standard Chartered.In a turnabout US says it will not sanctoin BP to operate gas field in North Sea owned by Iran, reported in the BBC online.
  7. Voice of America fires four employees for taking bribes in Africa. Harry Cassin reports in the FCPA Blog.
  8. Looking for the top training on how to operationalize your compliance program? Tom announces a new Compliance Master Class to be held in NYC November 12 & 13, hosted by Jonathan Marks and Baker Tilly. For agenda, more information and registration details click here.
  9. Want to attend a top compliance conference but have no travel budget? Navex Global has the answer for you with its virtual conference. Check out details and registration here.
  10. Tom premiers a new podcast series, The Opinion Release Papers which explore the FCPA Opinion Release Procedure. The first five episodes were released this week and are available on iTunes, Libsyn, JDSupra and this site. They were Opinion Releases 14-02, 14-01, 13-01, 12-02 and 12-01.
  11. Will you be attending the SCCE 2018 Compliance and Ethics Institute? If so let’s connect. Jay is hosting his annual Orphan’s Dinner on Saturday night if you are getting there early.
  12. The baseball playoffs (is there anything else?)

SCCE 2018 CEI sessions with AMI folks:

509 Decades to Build, Seconds to Destroy: Proactive Compliance On Your Own Terms to Avoid or Mitigate An Enforcement Action

Tuesday, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Eric Feldman, Senior VP and Managing Director, Corporate Ethics and Compliance Programs, Affiliated Monitors and Thomas Topolski, Executive Vice President, Turner & Townsend 

–– Learn how proactive assessment and remediation

measures are less costly and more effective than more

potentially restrictive compliance responses. 

–– Determine how company actions prior to, during, and

after an ethical crisis can help determine the severity of

fines, penalties and required remediation. 

–– Explore the value of “proactive monitoring” to help

strengthen organizational culture, identify and manage

potential vulnerabilities, and establish credibility 

AD11 Secrets from In-house Ethics & Compliance Buyers: How to Keep the Gate and Your Sanity

Tuesday, 1:00 –2:00 pm

Jay Rosen, VP, Business Development and Monitoring

Specialist, Affiliated Monitors, Inc. 

– Learn how to manage your vendor relationships to maximize their value proposition and minimize persistent and time consuming sales pitches. 

– Vendors believe they can make a buyer’s life easier, but they must listen for “buying or non-buying” cues and modulate their contact proportionately. 

– While SCCE believes that tomorrow’s solutions for today’s E&C issues will come from the vendor community, in-house clients respond to authentic vendor relationships as they can easily separate salesy features from those colleagues who really care.

For more information on how an independent monitor can help improve your company’s ethics and compliance program, visit our sponsor Affiliated Monitors at www.affiliatedmonitors.com.

 

Oct 10, 2018

Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. In this episode, Matt Kelly and I take a deep dive into the continuing saga of Elon Musk, the SEC settlement, corporate governance at Tesla and his ongoing twitter feed.   

Some of the highlights from this podcast are:

  1. The original ‘funding secured” tweet demonstrated that proper SOX 302 controls are not in place at Tesla.
  2. Is corporate governance a SOX 302 control? Did the Tesla Board fulfill its obligations around this issue? What does the SEC say about it?
  3. Is short term gain (IE., profit) the goal of a corporation or is it )or should it be the long-term viability of the organization? What is in the best interest of the shareholders?

We unpack of all these points and consider strategies going forward.

For more reading: see Matt’s piece The Many Lessons of Elon Muskand see Tom’s blog post Best Practices (Or Not)

Oct 8, 2018

In the Episode, I visit with one of the top outside counsel in field of FCPA and compliance. It is Stephen Martin, a partner at Arnold & Porter. In this episode we deconstruct the Petrobras FCPA enforcement action. Some of the highlights include: 

  1. Why is this the largest FCPA fine ever?
  2. What happens if a company fails to disclose the violations?
  3. How does a company begin to rebuild from a corrupt culture?
  4. Why was there no monitor required?
  5. What is the true cost of a FCPA enforcement action?
  6. What did Petrobras do to garner a NPA?
  7. How does this enforcement action incentivize self-disclosure going forward?
  8. What are the lessons to be learned by the compliance professional?

The Petrobras FCPA enforcement action came in the form of a Non-Prosecution Agreement (NPA) with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Cease and Desist Order (Order) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Oct 5, 2018

The baseball playoffs are here.  For the Sox, the hated Yankees. For the Astros, they begin their World Series defense against the Cleveland Indians. Tom and Jay discuss and take a look at some of the week’s top compliance and ethics stories.

  1. Styker is now a two-time FCPA loser. Will there be a third? Sam Rubenfeld reports in the WSJ Risk and Compliance Journal. Dick Cassin reports in the FCPA Blog.
  2. In a pique of sanity, Elon Musk settles his SEC lawsuit which might have barred him from serving on the Board of a public company. Tim Higgins and Dave Michaels consider the fallout in the WSJ. Both James Stewart, writing in the NYTand Tom Zanki, in Law360 say the Board needs better oversight.
  3. Former Chile mining official settles FCPA charges. Dick Cassin reports in the FCPA Blog. Sam Rubenfeld reports in the WSJ Risk & Compliance Journal.
  4. The commentary from the Petrobras FCPA enforcement action continues. Tom runs a 3-part series (Part 1, Part 2& Part 3). Mike Volkov weighs in on Corruption, Crime and Compliance. Andy Webb-Vidal explores the 10 ten takeaways from Operation Car Wash on Corporate Compliance Insights. Jonathan Marks looks at it from the ‘Realm of the Obvious’ in his Board and Fraud blog.
  5. MLB reportedly under investigation for FCPA violations in Latin America. Cheryl Ring reports in Fangraph.
  6. More on ruling on attorney-client privilege in UK. Sam Rubenfled in WSJ Risk & Compliance Journal reports SFO will not appeal ENRC ruling. Andrew Reeves provides five key takeaways in the FCPA Blog.
  7. Panasonic Avionics finally get a monitor. Kelly Swanson reports in GIR.
  8. Robbing a national bank, think big. Margot Patrick, Gabriele Steinhauser and Patricia Kowsmann report in the WSJ.
  9. Women who have behaved badly. Rosmah Mansor, wife of former Malaysian PM Najib Razak charged with money-laundering, Harry Cassin in the FCPA Blog. SFO moves to sieze assets of Gulnara Karimova the eldest daughter of the late Uzbek President Islam Karimoa. Dick Cassin the FCPA Blog.
  10. Want a 50% discount to one of the top compliance conferences around? Join Tom and AMI’s Eric Feldman at CONVERGE18 in Denver on October 9-11. I hope you can join me at the event. For information on the event, click here. As an extra benefit to fans of This Week in FCPA, CONVERGE18 is offering a 50% discount off the registrationEnter discount code TOMFOXVIP.
  11. The baseball playoffs are here. Tom and gutless wonder Jay discuss. Tom explains why Jay is a gutless wonder.

For more information on how an independent monitor can help improve your company’s ethics and compliance program, visit our sponsor Affiliated Monitors at www.affiliatedmonitors.com.

Oct 4, 2018

Welcome to the only roundtable podcast in compliance. This week’s episode is entirely dedicated to the spectacle of the Ford-Kavanaugh hearings from the past week. Jonathan Armstrong is on assignment so Tom Fox sits in for Armstrong. After the commentary we follow with rants.

  1. Jay Rosen-through the lens of the recent Jewish High Holidays, Jay considers redemption. What does the Torah say about redemption? How do Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah inform us on seeking redemption and living the redemptive life throughout the year? Jay bemoans the downturn in the Patriots but looks forward to seeing the Red Sox in the playoffs.
  1. Mike Volkov-a former federal prosecutor, Congressional staffer and investigator in corporate investigations considers the demeanors of Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh as witnesses? Armstrong rants on curse of the enthusiastic amateur. Mike rants about the denigration of the Supreme Court nomination process and how this could permanently demean the Court.
  1. Matt Kelly-considers what allegations are sufficient to warrant an investigation and what are some of the differences in an investigation through the political process and an internal investigation at a company. Matt gives a shout out to PwC Chairman Tim Ryan for his actions in the wake of the shooting in Dallas of a unarmed PwC employee in his home by a Dallas police officer.
  1. Tom Fox-considers judicial temperament. Did Kavanaugh demonstrate lack of sufficient judicial temperament in his partisan attack on the Democrats, the confirmation process and the US Senate? Would that type of temperament be allowed or tolerated in the corporate setting? Tom give a shout out to MLB schedulers who managed to schedule two consecutive single game elimination events for the last day of baseballs 162 game season.

The members of the Everything Compliance panelist are:

  • Jay Rosen– Jay is Vice President, Business Development Corporate Monitoring at Affiliated Monitors. Rosen can be reached at JRosen@affiliatedmonitors.com
  • Mike Volkov– One of the top FCPA commentators and practitioners around and the Chief Executive Officer of The Volkov Law Group, LLC. Volkov can be reached at mvolkov@volkovlawgroup.com.
  • Matt Kelly– Founder and CEO of Radical Compliance. Kelly can be reached at mkelly@radicalcompliance.com
  • Jonathan Armstrong– Rounding out the panel is our UK colleague, who is an experienced lawyer with Cordery in London. Armstrong can be reached at armstrong@corderycompliance.com

The host and producer (and sometime panelist) of Everything Compliance is Tom Fox the Compliance Evangelist.

Oct 3, 2018

Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. In this episode, Matt Kelly and I take a very deep dive into the increased prevalence of non-GAAP financial reporting.    

Some of the highlights from this podcast are:

  1. There has been a three-fold increase in instances of non-GAAP financial reporting in the past 20 years.
  2. What are some of the reasons companies would choose to use non-GAAP financial reporting? Does it deceive or confuse investors? What does the SEC say about it?
  3. Companies claim that certain non-GAAP financial reporting paints a more complete picture of a company’s true financial health. Is that true?

We unpack of all these points and consider strategies going forward.

For more reading: see Matt’s piece Non-GAAP Reporting, Popular as Ever

Sep 27, 2018

As the administration goes bonkers on the Kavanaugh nomination and the Rosenstein he’s out/he’s in drama, Tom and Jay consider 100+ wins for the Sox and ‘Stros and take a look at some of the week’s top compliance and ethics stories.

  1. Petrobras comes in at No. 3 on the international Top Ten anti-corruption enforcement list with a stunning $1.78bn settlement with the US and Brazil. Dick Cassin reports in the FCPA Blog. Aruna Viswanatha, Jeffrey T. Lewis and Samuel Rubenfeld weigh in on the Wall Street Journal. For more reading see, the Justice Department Non-Prosecution Agreementand the SEC Cease and Desist Order.
  2. Assistant Deputy Attorney General Matthew Miner speaks about the 2017 FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy, the 2018 addendums and FCPA enforcement in 2018. For text of speech, click here.
  3. Former Chile mining official settles FCPA charges. Dick Cassin reports in the FCPA Blog. Sam Rubenfeld reports in the WSJ Risk & Compliance Journal.
  4. What does Freud have to do with fraud? Jonathan Marks explains in his Board and Fraud blog.
  5. FIFA wants restitution. A corrupt former official says they aren’t entitled to it? Who has the better case? Mike Curley reports in Law360.
  6. Elon Musk sued by the SEC who says he shouldn’t be running a public company. Matthew Goldstein reports in the New York Times.
  7. Are non-US citizens eligible for SEC whistleblower awards? The SEC answers with a resounding yes. Harry Cassin reports in the FCPA Blog.
  8. What is a Remediation Management Office? Steve Hall and Sydney Rickelman explore in Corporate Compliance Insights.
  9. A BSR survey finds 2018 compliance is more than due diligence and clearing red flags. Alison Taylor reports in the FCPA Blog.
  10. Want a 50% discount to one of the top compliance conferences around? Join Tom and AMI’s Eric Feldman at CONVERGE18 in Denver on October 9-11. I hope you can join me at the event. For information on the event, click here. As an extra benefit to fans of This Week in FCPA, CONVERGE18 is offering a 50% discount off the registrationEnter discount code TOMFOXVIP.
  11. The reigning World Series champions Houston Astros clinch the AL West again and will meet the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS. Red Sox clinch home field throughout the playoffs (that is as long as they are in the playoffs).

Both the Astros and Red Sox have over 100 wins. Who will come out on top this year? Tom and Jay are back to tackle the week's top ethics and compliance stories on This Week in FCPA.

For more information on how an independent monitor can help improve your company’s ethics and compliance program, visit our sponsor Affiliated Monitors at www.affiliatedmonitors.com.

Sep 24, 2018

In this very special 400thanniversary episode, I visit with Ben Reiter, the author of Astroball—The New Way to Win It All. In addition to discussing perhaps one of my favorite topics of all time-the Houston Astros winning the 2017 World Series (have I mentioned that before?), Reiter and I take a deep dive into his book. In it he discusses how the Astros mastered the use of data and data analytics and then married those skills into data science with the soft skills of traditional baseball scouting to create the winning team in 2017. The Astros experience, Reiter’s book and our discussion directly apply to the compliance professional and the use of data and data science in an operationalized, best practices compliance program. Some of the discussion highlights include: 

  • What led to the book?
  • How data and analytics can supplement human intuition but not replace it?
  • What were his biggest surprises in researching the book?.
  • How did Reiter and Sports Illustrated have the magic Gini to predict after the 3 worse seasons in the history of major league baseball, in just 3 more years the Astros would be WS champions?
  • How can compliance officers use the Astros approach?

To purchase a copy of Reiter’s book, Astroball, click here

Sep 16, 2018

In this episode, I visit with podcast favorite Matt Ellis, a member at Miller & Chevalier on the firm’s always excellent FCPA Summer Review 2018. The first half of 2018 has brought some very interesting FCPA enforcement actions, packed with lots of information for the compliance practitioner. We unpack the key enforcement actions, international developments and some key statistics. Some of the discussion highlights include: 

  • D&B-how to garner a full declination;
  • Panasonic Avionics-need for robust ongoing monitoring of third parties. Not simply a one-time look.
  • Society General-as bad as this case was, yet the company still got a discount.
  • Legg Mason-parent liable for the actions of its agent.
  • Credit Suisse-check out your hiring policies.

To download a copy of Miller & Chevalier’s FCPA Summer Review 2018, click here.

Sep 14, 2018

As Hurricane Florence has made landfall onto the Carolinas and beyond, Hurricane Issac is hurtling towards the Gulf of Mexico and Storm X is taking aim at Texas, Tom and Jay are back with a look at some of the week’s top compliance and ethics stories.

  1. United Technologies settles a FCPA enforcement action with the SEC. Harry Cassin reports in the FCPA Blog. Tom explains its significance in the context of Brighton Rock on the FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog.
  2. A Goldman partner uses the company hotline. What happened next and would any Goldman employee ever use it again? See article by Emily Flitter, Kate Kelly and David Enrich in the NYT.
  3. Les Moonves proves once again that it's the cover up that gets you, not the original crime as the CBS CEO goes down for lying to the CBS Board. James Steward reports in the NYT.
  4. What does GDPR mean for blockchain? Conversely what does Blockchain mean for GDPR? Vera Cherepanova explores in a two piece blog post on the FCPA Blog. Part Iand Part II. For a more positive outlook on blockchain, on this week’s Innovation in Compliance, Tom interviews EY’s Paul Brody and Alex Perry on the power of blockchain.
  5. SFO wins huge document production matter against KBR. Christine Braamskamp and Kelly Hagedorn write about the case in NYU’s Compliance and Enforcement Blog.
  6. Unarmed black man shot and killed in his own home by white Dallas police officer. What was PwC's’s response? Matt Kelly considers in Radical Compliance.
  7. Matthew Stephenson asks if Hoskins was correctly decided and conclude it probably was not. In the Global Anti-Corruption Blog.
  8. Leila Szwarc on why organizations need a global compliance framework. In Corporate Compliance Insights.
  9. Want the top compliance training from the guy who wrote the book on compliance? Tom will put on a Compliance Master Class in Boston, September 25 & 26, hosted by Affiliated Monitors. Registration and information, click here.
  10. Want a 50% discount to one of the top compliance conferences around? Join Tom and AMI’s Eric Feldman at CONVERGE18 in Denver on October 9-11. I hope you can join me at the event. For information on the event, click here. As an extra benefit to fans of This Week in FCPA, CONVERGE18 is offering a 50% discount off the registration. Enter discount code TOMFOXVIP.
  11. In this week’s podcast series I internview Don Stern, Eric Feldman and Rod Grandon on the role if an independent monitor in assessing ethics and compliance in the M&A context. Part 1-the whys, whats and hows; Part 2-the impact of M&A on both parties; Part 3-what’s the plan; Part 4-oversight of merged entities; and Part 5-how the M&A process benefits from an independent monitor.

For more information on how an independent monitor can help improve your company’s ethics and compliance program, visit our sponsor Affiliated Monitors at www.affiliatedmonitors.com.

Sep 13, 2018

Welcome to the only roundtable podcast in compliance. Inspired by our UK colleague, Jonathan Armstrong who inquired if we could explore the guilty plea of Michael Cohen and the guilty verdict against Paul Manafort, we dedicate the next two episodes to issues surrounding, raised by or related to these two events. In this episode we have commentary by Jay Rosen and Jonathan Armstrong (last week was Mike Volkov and Matt Kelly). After the commentary we follow with rants. 

  1. Jay Rosen-begins with the Tom Fox mantra of Document Document Document to consider the use of documents in both cases. The Cohen case was built on the paper trail. He explains how prosecutors used it to uncover the fraud and why companies must properly record documents. Jay gives a shout out to John McCain for his services to our country. 
  1. Jonathan Armstrong-There is much discussion in the US about whether prosecutors should or even can investigate the President, his team and family for their actions. He uses this as a jumping off point to consider if a UK PM and his team engaged in such blatant corruption, would UK prosecutors have the ability to engage in such investigations? What is the relationship of the CPS & SFO to the party in power for criminal investigations? Armstrong rants on curse of the enthusiastic amateur. 

The members of the Everything Compliance panelist are:

  • Jay Rosen– Jay is Vice President, Business Development Corporate Monitoring at Affiliated Monitors. Rosen can be reached at JRosen@affiliatedmonitors.com
  • Mike Volkov– One of the top FCPA commentators and practitioners around and the Chief Executive Officer of The Volkov Law Group, LLC. Volkov can be reached at mvolkov@volkovlawgroup.com.
  • Matt Kelly– Founder and CEO of Radical Compliance. Kelly can be reached at mkelly@radicalcompliance.com
  • Jonathan Armstrong– Rounding out the panel is our UK colleague, who is an experienced lawyer with Cordery in London. Armstrong can be reached at armstrong@corderycompliance.com 

The host and producer (and sometime panelist) of Everything Compliance is Tom Fox the Compliance Evangelist.

Sep 12, 2018

Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. In this episode, Matt Kelly and I take a very deep dive into the recent SEC whistleblower award of $54MM to two separate individuals.   

Some of the highlights from this podcast are:

  1. What does all this mean for the new proposed SEC whistleblower award basis revisions under consideration?
  2. Apparently there is flexibility in the standards for whistleblower awards.
  3. More information on requirement waivers would assist corporations and compliance practitioners. 

We unpack of all these points and consider strategies going forward. 

For more reading: see Matt’s piece $54M SEC Whistleblower Award

Sep 10, 2018

In this episode, I visit with podcast fan favorite Laura Perkins, a partner at Hughes, Hubbard and Reed. We discuss the recent 2ndCircuit Court of Appeals decision in the Hoskins matter. With Laura’s background as a former Justice Department prosecutor in the FCPA Unit, she brings a wealth of knowledge to what the decision may portend for the prosecution of FCPA cases going forward and how may impact corporate compliance programs as well. Some of the discussion highlights include: 

  1. Background to Hoskins case;
  2. Summary of facts of the case;
  3. Court holding;
  4. Implications for DOJ in prosecutions under the FCPA and other US laws; and
  5. Implications corporations doing business outside the US.

For a copy of the Hoskins opinion, click here

Sep 7, 2018

As the Houston Texans head to Boston for the NFL Season Opener and the Houston Astros head to Boston for a preview of the ALCS , Tom and Jay are back with a look at some of the week’s top compliance and ethics stories.

  1. Big pharma member Sanofi settles FCPA violations with $25MM penalty. Dick Cassin reports in the FCPA Blog. Sam Rubenfeld reports in the WSJ Risk and Compliance Journal.
  2. SEC lays out two large whistleblower awards. Matt Kelly details it on Radical Compliance. See SEC Press Release. See full SEC Order.
  3. Do you have a whistleblower triage system? Jonathan Marks explains what it is and why you need it on his Board and Fraud
  4. Three former senior executives from Telia, including the former CEO, go on trial in Sweden for paying bribes in Uzbekistan. See report in RadioFreeEurope.
  5. More thoughts and reactions on Hoskins. Matthew Stephenson weighs in on the Global AntiCorruption Blog. Jon Rusch explores what the decision did and didn’t say in Dipping Through Geometries. I explore on the FCPA Compliance Report with former DOJer Laura Perkins (releases Monday, Sept. 10)
  6. ING settles money-laundering violations with Dutch authorities for $900 million. SEC issues anti-piling on declination. Jaclyn Jaeger on the settlement in Compliance Week (sub req’d). Harry Cassin on the SEC declination in the FCPA Blog.
  7. UK High Court restores attorney/client privilege in internal investigations. See Gibson Dunn client alert. See full Court Opinion here.
  8. Anonymous reporting is viewed as critical in the world of anti-corruption compliance. What about in the world of politics? Tom, Jay and Matt debate the anonymous NYT Op-Edpiece detailing the insanity in the White House.
  9. How does FOIA apply to FCPA (and other) monitorships? See article in National Law Review.
  10. Want the top compliance training from the guy who wrote the book on compliance? Tom will put on a Compliance Master Class in Boston, September 25 & 26, hosted by Affiliated Monitors. Registration and information, click here.
  11. Want a 50% discount to one of the top compliance conferences around? Join Tom and AMI’s Eric Feldman at CONVERGE18 in Denver on October 9-11. I hope you can join me at the event. For information on the event, click here. As an extra benefit to fans of This Week in FCPA, CONVERGE18 is offering a 50% discount off the registrationEnter discount code TOMFOXVIP.
  12. The Astros magic number is 19 (Jay is far too traumatized to put one on the Red Sox) as they head up to Fenway Park for a three-game series which is a preview of the ALCS. In other news, the Texans head to Foxborough to continue their 0 for Brady streak.

For more information on how an independent monitor can help improve your company’s ethics and compliance program, visit our sponsor Affiliated Monitors at www.affiliatedmonitors.com.

Sep 6, 2018

Welcome to Everything Compliance, the only roundtable podcast in compliance. Inspired by our UK colleague, Jonathan Armstrong who inquired if we could explore the guilty plea of Michael Cohen and the guilty verdict against Paul Manafort, we dedicate the next two episodes to issues surrounding, raised by or related to these two events. In this episode we have Mike Volkov and Matt Kelly. Next week Jay Rosen and Jonathan Armstrong. After the commentary we follow with rants.

  1. Mike Volkov-from Cohen an explanation of how prosecutors build cases with witness flipping. From the Manafort trial, how do prosecutors use documents to tell a credible story when the prime prosecution witness is a slime ball like Rick Gates. Mike rants the absence of any class at the White House in their treatment of the death of John McCain.
  1. Matt Kelly-Trump has attacked Cohen for being a ‘rat’ and praised Manafort for keeping his mouth shut. Can you use this as an opening to explore what such a diatribe might mean for corporate whistleblowing, particularly in view of the new proposed SEC whistleblower rules. Matt rants against the scooter-share company Bird, which is invading and the retreating from communities without approval, apologies or so much as a by-your-leave.

The members of the Everything Compliance panelist are:

  • Jay Rosen– Jay is Vice President, Business Development Corporate Monitoring at Affiliated Monitors. Rosen can be reached at JRosen@affiliatedmonitors.com
  • Mike Volkov– One of the top FCPA commentators and practitioners around and the Chief Executive Officer of The Volkov Law Group, LLC. Volkov can be reached at mvolkov@volkovlawgroup.com.
  • Matt Kelly– Founder and CEO of Radical Compliance. Kelly can be reached at mkelly@radicalcompliance.com
  • Jonathan Armstrong– Rounding out the panel is our UK colleague, who is an experienced lawyer with Cordery in London. Armstrong can be reached at armstrong@corderycompliance.com

The host and producer (and sometime panelist) of Everything Compliance is Tom Fox the Compliance Evangelist.

Aug 27, 2018

In this episode, I chat with Erica Salmon Byrne, the EVP and Executive Director of Business Ethics Leadership Alliance for Ethisphere. We visit on Ethisphere’s 2018 World’s Most Ethical Company awards. Since 2007, Ethisphere has honored those companies who recognize their critical role to influence and drive positive change in the business community and societies around the world and work to maximize their impact wherever possible. The 2018 awards were no exceptions, with the designation going to 135 companies spanning 23 countries and 57 industries. We explore some of the following and much more.

  1. How long has Ethisphere awarded WME?
  2. What is evaluated for WME? The five categories include: Ethics and Compliance Program, Corporate Citizenship and Responsibility, Culture of Ethics, Governance, Leadership, Innovation, and Reputation.
    3. What is the 3-year ethics premium?
  3. How does that compare with previous years?
  4. Did Ethisphere see any common or significant themes for WME 2018 companies?
  5. Company X is on the list. Problem Y is on the list. Why are they being honored?
  6. Description of the Ethisphere internal evaluation.
  7. How does WME literally set the standard benchmark for companies in the area of ethics and compliance? 

To read the Ethisphere Research Report Leading Practices and Trends from the 2018 World’s Most Ethical Companies® click here.

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