Corruption Crime & Compliance

On July 2, 2020, DOJ and the SEC issued revised FCPA Guidance.  The Revised Guidance continues to be a valuable document, which contains important discussions of relevant cases, DOJ and SEC policies, and enforcement principles relating to the FCPA. In this Episode, Tom Fox and Michael Volkov discuss the Revised FCPA Guidance and highlight important changes and trends.

Novartis is the new poster-child of corporate misconduct.  In the space of two weeks, Novartis settled domestic False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback violations for $729 million, and settled FCPA violations for foreign bribery for $337 million. In the domestic False Claims Act and AKS cases, Novartis resolved two separate cases: one for illegal payments made to three foundations used to pay for patients' co-payments in order to increase sales; and another for illegal payments to doctors through a false speaker program which was used to shower physicians with lavish meals, events, gifts and other benefits to induce them to increase prescriptions for Novartis drugs. In this episode, Michael Volkov discusses the recent FCA and AKS enforcement action against Novartis.  

Notwithstanding the pandemic and remote working arrangements, the Securities and Exchange Commission is continuing to bring FCPA enforcement actions.  In its latest action, the SEC settled with Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $21 million for foreign bribery and books and records violations. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the Alexion FCPA enforcement action and the lessons learned for compliance professionals.

Even during this difficult time of the pandemic, economic uncertainty and social unrest, the Justice Department and the SEC have concluded a major FCPA enforcement action. Novartis and Alcon (which was a Novartis subsidiary at the time of the misconduct) agreed to pay a total of $345 million in criminal and civil penalties.  Novartis spun off Alcon in 2019. Under the DOJ settlement, Novartis and Alcon each entered into a deferred prosecution agreement; Novartis agreed to pay a fine of $225 million and Alcon agreed to pay $8.9 million in criminal penalties.  Novartis also entered into a settlement with the SEC under which they agreed to pay a total of $112 million. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the FCPA settlement and the lessons learned.

The Justice Department’s recent revisions to the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs highlights an important trend and evolution of prosecution focus.  DOJ’s Revised Corporate Compliance Guidance recognized and reinforced the continuing focus on post-acquisition integration versus pre-acquisition due diligence.  For years, DOJ and compliance professionals placed significant emphasis on pre-acquisition due diligence.  This balance has been adjusted over the last ten years to raise the importance of post-acquisition integration planning and implementation. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the revised compliance guidance and the impact on pre-cquisition due diligence and post-acquisition integration.

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division recently announced the indictment in Colorado federal court of four executives from two chicken producer companies for participation in a long-running price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracy in the sale of broiler chickens to grocers, fast-food companies and other sellers of chicken products. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews the indictment, the factual allegations and reviews antitrust compliance lessons learned.

The Department of Justice quietly issued revisions to its Corporate Compliance Program Guidance.  DOJ's revisions underscore important new trends in corporate compliance -- the importance of resources and empowerment, continuous monitoring, proactive strategies, access to and use of data, consistent discipline and new, training strategies. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews DOJ's changes to its Corporate Compliance Guidance and puts the changes in perspective to the rapidly evolving compliance profession and industry.

Paul Kruse, former CEO of Blue Bell Ice Cream, was recently charged with criminal charges stemming from the sale of contaminated ice cream, resulting in the death of three persons.  Kruse was aware of serious safety and contamination issues arising from the production of Blue Bell ice cream.  Notwithstanding his knowledge, Kruse ignored safety concerns and withheld critical information from its customers and consumers. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews the criminal charges lodged against Paul Kruse.

Boeing Airlines was the leader in safety and financial success.  Unfortunately, Boeing has suffered a significant fall from grace as a result of its 737 Max safety record and two devastating crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. The Boeing safety scandal has had a devastating impact on Boeing's performance and uncovered a corporate culture that has been obsessed with financial performance to the detriment of safety and respect for regulatory requirements. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews the Boeing safety scandal and outlines some of the corporate culture issues.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on everyones' life.  Businesses have had to adjust rapidly to a new world, filled with significant healthy and safety risks, along with business survival and continuity issues.  Companies have reacted with crisis management strategies.  As part of this response, companies have to implement a new risk profile and allocate resources accordingly. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews the new risk and compliance paradigm.