Cadence Systems Pays $140 Million for Trade Violations and Pleads Guilty to Criminal Export Control Conspiracy

What happens when a company tries to outsmart the system - and gets caught red-handed by the DOJ in a $140 million export control scheme tied to Chinese military supercomputers?

In this episode, Michael dives into the DOJ’s criminal enforcement action against Cadence Design Systems - a case that marks yet another major step in the DOJ’s rapidly unfolding trade enforcement strategy. We’re no longer in the FCPA era. This is a whole new ballgame, where national security and trade compliance have collided, and companies that haven’t adjusted are already behind.

You’ll hear him discuss:

• Why Cadence’s plea deal - not a DPA or NPA - is such a big deal
• How the DOJ and BIS coordinated to secure over $140 million in criminal and civil penalties
• The simple, sloppy scheme that involved fake names, hidden aliases, and blatant attempts to skirt export controls
• Why partial cooperation didn’t earn Cadence a full credit reduction - and what they failed to do
• The shocking compliance gap: only one export control officer handling global risk
• What this case signals about the DOJ’s growing focus on national security and semiconductor enforcement
• Why ethics, due diligence, and transaction monitoring are still your best defense
• How companies can avoid getting blindsided by embracing the new trade enforcement landscape

Resources

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The Volkov Law Group