In this episode Mike Volkov and myself take a deep dive into the Odebrecht/Braskem and Teva FCPA enforcement actions. We review the underlying facts, the conduct of the parties, the results obtained and what it all means for the compliance practitioner going forward.
Show Notes for Episode 33, week ending December 23, 2016-Holiday edition
In this episode I visit with Juliet Lui as we discuss how to best handle small and medium investigations in an efficient and cost effective manner. We discuss how such matters often slip through the cracks as they are not perceived as high profile yet can cause significant problems if allowed to fester. We discuss methodology, costs and deliverables. Lui details two case studies to emphasize how important small and medium investigations can be as they often uncover larger and more critical problems and issues.
In this episode SCCE CEO Roy Snell and I continue are exploration of issues of import to the compliance profession. We consider the penalty assessed by the NCAA on Notre Dame for it use of two ineligible football players and whether the punishment fit the crime; the forced transparency leading to hyper transparency for today's corporate scandals and the sanctions assessed against former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf; advise not send out stupid emails and consider how the safety industry evolved 20 years ago and what implications it might have for the compliance profession going forward.
In this episode SCCE CEO Roy Snell and I take a deep dive into corporate governance and compliance, the public skewering of former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf and ask if a CEO should be involved in the hiring of a CCO.
In this episode Matt Kelly and I take deep dive into the United Airlines SEC enforcement action for violation of internal controls around its reinstitution of a route from Newark to South Carolina at the insistence of the then Chairman of the New York and New Jersey Port Authority David Sampson in exchange for a concession to expand its physical facilities at the Newark airport. We review the background facts, as set out in the SEC Cease and Desist Order and the Justice Department Non-prosecution. We take a look at the internal controls violation of the former UA CEO for violating the company's Code of Conduct, the finding of a lack of internal controls around its route reinstitution protocol and finally discuss the problem of senior management override of internal controls.
For more information on this enforcement action, check out Matt's blog post on this matter, entitled, "This Weird United Airlines Case Just Happened" and my blog post entitled, "The Chairman's Flight and the US Corrupt Practices Act".
In this episode, I visit with Houston Chronicle business columnist Chris Tomlinson about his time working internationally for the Associated Press. He relates his first hand view of the invidiousness of corruption in African countries. He also talks about how a major FCPA corruption trial would be covered. He concludes with thoughts about the role of the Fourth Estate in the international fight against corruption.
Show Notes for Episode 32, week ending December 9, 2016-the Fly the Not So Friendly Skies edition:
We are back to our more rounded format for this episode on a variety of topics including anti-corruption enforcement across the globe, the new French anti-corruption law, Sapin II, the Agricultural Bank of China compliance enforcement action by the state of New York Department of Financial Services; how corruption influences as much as it pays money and individual accountability for corporate malfeasance is not a Democratic or GOP issue but a law enforcement issue. We end with a well-deserved one minute rant from the panel about what is in the front of their mind.
Mike Volkov discusses the internationalization of anti-corruption enforcement. He refers to the comments from the ACI FCPA conference, by Kara Brockmeyer and Dan Kahn about the increasing international enforcement efforts against corruption. This extends far beyond cooperation but also to enforcement. Recent examples are VimpelCom and Embraer where other countries received proceeds from fines and penalties. How does a company begin to deal with this type of complexity? Who does it disclose to? Who does it pay? When will the US give credit for payments made to other countries and when does it not? Finally this year saw of the third joint DOJ/SEC week long training for foreign prosecutors put on in DC. How do such events assist enforcement efforts, particularly around cooperation and mutual assistance?
For Tom Fox’s blog post, “Anti-Corruption Enforcement Has Gone International?” click here.
For Kelly’s posts, see post on the enforcement action involving the Agriculture Bank of China, click here.
For Cordery’s piece on the new law click here.
Jay Rosen takes us through a Paul Krugman NYT post on some of the invidiousness of corruption, focusing on the corrupting nature of compliance around undue influence. Rosen explains incentives more than anything else and how such incentives skew the marketplace. We consider whether Trump’s discussions with the Carrier Corp over jobs was unduly influenced recalling President Kennedy’s ‘jawboning’ of the US steel industry in the 1960s. He also discusses the remarks of Sally Yates at ACI national FCPA conference about individual accountability and how this is not a GOP or Democratic issue but a criminal enforcement issue. For a link Krugman post, click here. For a copy of the text of Yates remarks, click here.
For a copy of Jay blog post entitled, “The DOJ and SEC Share Patriots Mantra—Next Prosecutor Up” click here.
Rants this week include the new UK surveillance law, the SEC domestic corruption enforcement action involving United Airlines for the Chairman’s Flight and the Chicken Littles of the compliance world claiming the sky is falling.