Day: February 18, 2020

Categories
EMBARGOED!

Embargoed! Episode 1: Deep Dive Beneath the Headlines: Breaking Down the News of the Past Few Months

In our inaugural episode of EMBARGOED!, hosts Brian Fleming and Tim O’Toole dissect the biggest sanctions and export control related news items from the past few months and hash out what’s real v. #fakenews, including the latest Iran sanctions, the U.S. government pumping the brakes on more Huawei restrictions (for now), new sanctions targeting the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and the “so-called” Crimean government, and much more. Plus: our very first Lightning Round!

Timestamps:
0:10 Introduction
The Rundown:
2:40 Soleimani/Iran/Iraq Sanctions
13:06 China: Tougher Restrictions on Huawei… or Maybe Not
23:15 Russia: Nord Stream 2 Sanctions
31:48 Revised NSD Voluntary Disclosure Guidance
45:23 Lightning Round!:
46:02 Phase 1 of the U.S.-China Trade Deal
47:25 Latest Round of Russia/Ukraine Sanctions
49:49 Venezuela/Government Officials Seizure of National Assembly
52:42 Final Thoughts
Like what you hear? Please Subscribe! * Apple Podcasts * Spotify * Google Play * Stitcher
Questions? Contact us at podcasts@milchev.com.
EMBARGOED! is not intended and cannot be relied on as legal advice; the content only reflects the thoughts and opinions of its hosts.
Brian Fleming’s practice focuses on investigations and compliance counseling in matters at the intersection of international trade and national security with an emphasis on economic sanctions, export controls, and foreign direct investment. He advises leading U.S. and foreign companies on compliance issues implicating the OFAC, BIS, and the DDTC. Brian also conducts internal investigations, coordinates responses to subpoenas and other investigative demands, and represents companies and individuals in government enforcement actions, including criminal cases brought by DOJ. View Brian’s full bio.
Tim O’Toole is the leader of Miller & Chevalier’s White Collar Defense Practice Group. Between his time at Miller & Chevalier and his time in government service, Mr. O’Toole has been conducting and leading large-scale defense investigations for over 20 years. Although Mr. O’Toole has substantial experience in all areas of white collar practice, his main focus is on defending enforcement actions and conducting investigations involving the economic sanctions, export controls, and anti-money laundering laws. His clients run the gamut, including U.S. and non-U.S. financial institutions and public companies in the aviation, insurance, logistics, manufacturing, and oil and gas sectors. View Tim’s full bio.
Learn more about Miller and Chevalier’s Economic Sanctions and Export Controls practice.

Categories
Innovation in Compliance

Gini Dietrich on Spotting Red Flags


 
This week’s guest on Innovation In Compliance is Gini Dietrich, CEO and founder of Spin Sucks. Gini is a writer, blogger, speaker and all-around expert in the PR space. She recently wrote a blog post entitled, How to Spot Red Flags in New Business Relationships, which is the focus of her discussion with Tom Fox in this week’s show.
 

 
Trust Your Instincts
Tom asks Gini what inspired the blog post. She responds that she actually wrote the blog post as a reminder to herself to always look for red flags and always listen to her gut. She says that when you’re contemplating a prospective business relationship, there are a few questions you should always ask yourself. Do you see red flags? Can you get past them because there are other advantages? Should you discontinue the conversation and save yourself time, angst, money and resources in the long run? In the PR space, the most common red flag is unrealistic expectations, Gini explains.
Why? Why? Why?
Gini points out the importance of writing down red flags. For one thing, it makes them more concrete; and for another thing, you can take your questions into your meetings to remind yourself to ask certain questions if red flags arise. You should be constantly evaluating your business relationships. Ask follow up questions. Gini advocates asking why at least three times. Tom comments that the compliance industry uses that exact technique; it’s called root cause analysis.
Learn to Say No
Tom asks, “Why is the ability to say no critical for business owners and compliance professionals?” Gini responds that in business relationships if you can’t find any red flags then it’s usually going to be a good relationship. The inverse is also true: if there are red flags then the relationship is usually going to be difficult. The other reason why being willing to say no is important is that in the PR business as in compliance, you’re selling your time and you can’t scale that. So it’s critical to say no to things that will take your time away from what you should be doing. Tom mentions that part of Gini’s process is to try to disqualify every prospect. She comments that looking for reasons to disqualify a prospect, and finding them, makes it easier to say no to them. She shares tips on what red flags might look like from the employee and client perspective.
Resources
SpinSucks.com
How to Spot Red Flags In New Business Relationships

Categories
Daily Compliance News

February 18, 2020, the Take it Back edition


In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Rio Tinto goes after whistleblower. (FT)
  • What compliance continuity planning have you done? (FT)
  • Morley tweet has cost NBA more than $400MM. (WSJ)
  • Baseball Commish wanted to take back Astros WS championship. (Houston Chronicle)