Bribe, Swindle or Steal

Drago Kos, Chair of the OECD’s Working Group on Bribery, and Dan Kahn, former head of the DOJ’s FCPA Unit and now a partner in Davis Polk’s DC office, wrap up our series on the OECD revised Recommendation with a focus on the very practical implications for companies.

Bill Steinman of Steinman & Rodgers joins the podcast to discuss the recent Opinion Procedure Release addressing extortionate demands.  Bill also reviews the substantial grey area of emergencies involving the detention of personnel and confiscation of property that are arguably legal under local law.

Michelle de Kluyver, partner in Addleshaw Goddard’s Global Investigations group, joins the podcast to discuss the UK’s history with the OECD convention and what impact the revised Recommendation might have.

Cheryl Scarboro presents TRACE’s annual FCPA Year in Review webinar and we listen in for today’s podcast. Cheryl was Associate Director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement for almost twenty years and served as its first ever Chief of the FCPA Unit.  She is now a partner in Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s Washington DC office.

Jan Dunin-Wasowicz, counsel in Hughes Hubbard & Reed’s Paris office, joins the podcast to discuss France’s performance to date as a party to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and what impact the revised Recommendation might have there.

Investigative journalist Erlend Ofte Arntsen of Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang joins the podcast to discuss his work on the Tinder Swindler story, recently adapted into a Netflix documentary. Erlend and his colleagues broke the story of Shimon Hayut, an Israeli con man who found women on the dating app, impressed them with private jets and bodyguards, concocted stories about being in great personal danger and then drained their bank accounts and left them with extraordinary credit card debt.

Peter Solmssen joins the podcast to talk about his work, together with a group of experts, in support of the OECD Working Group on Bribery’s revised Recommendation relating to settlements. He discusses how “individual heroism” by prosecutors should not be required to reach settlements and he shares his thoughts on the benefits the revised Recommendation will bring not only to companies, but also to prosecutors and to the larger goal of reducing corruption.

Mark Morrison, National Practice Group Leader of Blakes’ Business Crimes, Investigations & Compliance group, joins the podcast to discuss Canada’s performance to date as a party to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and what the revised Recommendation might mean for Canada.

Ryan Murphy, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Cyber, Risk & Regulatory Platform and lead on PwC's U.S. Investigations & Forensics Services Practice, joins the podcast to discuss audits:  what the term means, what assurance they should and should not provide and how they can be used for nefarious purposes.

Wendy Wysong of Steptoe & Johnson, TRACE’s Partner Law Firm in Hong Kong, joins the podcast to discuss recent new guidance from China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). Applying only to bribes paid within China’s borders, the guidance highlights some challenges for companies operating in China, particularly with respect to multi-country settlements.