Corruption Crime & Compliance

The SEC is a very busy agency. While promising more aggressive enforcement of securities rules, the SEC has issued two set of comprehensive rule amendments. The first proposes new rules governing cyber incident reporting, disclosures and governance. In the second major policy action, the SEC issued its long-awaited rules governing climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.in this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the two proposals.

The Antitrust Division’s Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter promised a new era in antitrust enforcement. He won bi-partisan support from both Republicans and Democrats. Across the antitrust field, he promised aggressive merger enforcement, civil enforcement against digital markets, and constraint of market power in numerous industries. AAG Kanter promised a new approach and he is delivering.In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews two recent speeches and enforcement efforts by DOJ's Antitrust Division.

In another indication of DOJ's aggressive approach to enforcement of sanctions against Russia, DOJ announced the indictment of a TV producer for violations of the Crimea-Related Russian sanctions program. As outlined in the indictment, Jack Hanick, a former Fox News executive, was indicted for a sanctions violations stemming from his long-time relationship with a prohibited Russian oligarch (Specially Designated National) relating to the creation and promotion of the Russian Television Network.In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews DOJ's indictment and the facts surrounding Hanick's conduct.

The continuing crisis in Ukraine has resulted in additional sanctions and export controls. It is hard to keep up with new developments each day. In recent steps, the United States has adopted a comprehensive set of export controls and implemented a ban on import of Russian oil, gas and coal.In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the recent changes to the Russia sanctions and export controls.

In an unprecedented and sweeping set of actions, the United States in coordination with its Allies and partners has implemented a robust set of sanctions and export controls against Russia designed to cripple Russia's economy. The unprecedented actions against Russia are intended to deter Russia from continuing its violent invasion of Ukraine and attacks against the Ukrainian people.The Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Asset Control and the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security have issued comprehensive sanctions against Russia's financial industry, government investment funds, and oligarchs. In scope and complexity, the Russia sanctions and export controls raise significant compliance challenges for U.S. and global companies conducting business in Russia.In this Episode, Michael Volkov surveys the sanctions and export controls.

The SEC announced the first FCPA enforcement action in 2022. South Korean telecommunications company, KT Corporation, agreed to pay $6.3 million to settle FCPA violations. As part of the settlement, KT Corp. agreed to pay $3.5 million in civil penalties and $2.8 million in disgorgement. KT Corp. is South Korea’s largest telecommunications company. KT Corp. violated the FCPA’s books and records and internal accounting controls provisions stemming from its activities in South Korea and Vietnam. As explained in the SEC’s Order, KT lacked sufficient internal accounting controls over its expenses, including executive bonuses and purchases of gift cards, which resulted in KT Corp. managers and executives generating slush funds for illegal purposes. Additionally, KT Corp. failed to adopt anti-corruption policies and procedures with respect to donations, employment candidates, vendors, subcontractors or third-party agents. As a result, KT Corp. employees were able to provide improper benefits to government officials and potential government customers.In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the KT Corp. settlement.

Susan Divers, LRN Senior Advisor, reviews LRN's 2022 Ethics and Compliance Program Effectiveness Report. LRN conducts an annual Ethics and Compliance Program Effectiveness Report (“LRN Report”) that is a must-read for business leaders, managers, investors, compliance professionals and other stakeholders. LRN’s annual report has addressed key issues surrounding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on companies and ethics and compliance programs. 

Ethics and compliance professionals believe in their mission – if they did not, they would not be in the field. E&C professionals believe in the power of positive thinking, ethical conduct, and in the overall ability of an organization to operate as an “ethical” company. They work for their mission and it is a positive mission. The New Year is a great time for E&C professionals to take stock on their compliance programs and to plot out a path forward. Luckily for most compliance professionals, there are lots of opportunities to advance their objectives. E&C is poised for another big jump on the corporate governance ladder, and this is a big year for E&C professionals to push their respective companies to support such efforts.There are three significant trends that will continue to play out this year that create opportunities. These three trends, which I will discuss in greater detail are: (1) the continued emphasis on the importance of corporate culture; (2) the importance of ESG and in particular the “G” element; and (3) the current Administration’s aggressive enforcement and regulatory initiatives.In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews these important ethics and compliance trends.

Even with the absence of any major DOJ FCPA enforcement actions, DOJ issued an interesting FCPA Opinion Letter last week addressing application of the FCPA in circumstances where organizations face imminent serious bodily harm. While the situation may appear to be unique, it is a factual scenario that occurs more often than DOJ recognizes.In October 2021, a Requestor submitted an Opinion Letter application that presented compelling circumstances. The Requestor, an owner of a vessel, explained that a Foreign Country’s Navy had seized its vessel. Arrested and detained the captain and detained the vessel and its crew. Given the captain’s mental and physical health, the captain’s incarceration created an immediate threat of serious physical harm. A third-party acting on behalf other Country’s Navy demanded a cash payment of $175,000 to release the captain, the crew and the vessel. DOJ acted quickly and approved the Opinion Letter request. The payment was made and the captain and crew were released.The Requestor submitted additional information to DOJ, and a more formal Opinion Letter was released last week containing the full story and analysis. While the circumstances are relatively unique, DOJ’s analysis provides additional clarity surrounding the definition of “corrupt intent” and the “business purpose” test.In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews this interesting FCPA Opinion Letter.

Economic sanctions enforcement is a fast-rising risk for global companies. For many years, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) focused primarily on financial institutions. Over the last ten years, OFAC has stretched its enforcement eyes towards software, manufacturing, telecommunications and technology companies. With this growth in sanctions enforcement, OFAC has embraced an aggressive view of third-party risks. Like the FCPA, under OFAC’s regime, third parties are not permitted to do what the primary company cannot do. As a result, we have witnessed a steady increase in OFAC enforcement actions against global companies for failing to ensure compliance by third-party agents, distributors and other intermediaries.In this Episode, Michael Volkov takes a deep dive into third party sanctions risks and strategies to mitigate such risks.