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This Week in FCPA

This Week in FCPA-Episode 153 – the You’ll Never Walk Alone edition

A big tip of the hat to the Liverpool Football Club for its stunning 4-0 trouncing of Barcelona at Anfield to roar back into the Champions League finals for the second consecutive year. With Tom still singing You’ll Never Walk Alone, he takes a break to join Jay to discuss both events some of this week’s top compliance and ethics stories which caught their collective eyes.

  1. Roger Ng extradited to US. Is he cooperating with authorities? Will he flip on Goldman Sachs? Matthew Goldstein reports in the NYT. Yantoultra Ngui, Nicole Hong and Aruna Viswanatha all report in the WSJ.
  2. Want to take a deep dive into the 2019 Guidance. Check out Tom’s 7-part series on the FCPA Compliance Blogand Mike Volkov’s 6-part series on Corruption Crime and Compliance.
  3. Who are the Top Minds for 2019? Compliance Weekannounces its award winners.
  4. Regime change ensnares two more companies: Shell and ENI. Kelly Gilblom , Jonathan Browning , and Chiara Albanese all report in Bloomberg.
  5. What is the Corporate Identification Doctrine in Canada and the UK? Lincoln Caylor and Nathan Shaheen discuss in the FCPA Blog.
  6. Would you but a new plane from Boeing? Natalie Kitroeff and David Gelles report in the NYT.
  7. Should compliance be siloed? Bonnie Eslinger reports in Law360.
  8. What is moral harassment and will it ever be prosecuted in the US. Jon Rusch considers a French criminal action in Dipping Through Geometries.
  9. In Part 2 of a two-part series on monitors, Jay discusses dealing with a monitor after the settlement. On Corporate Compliance Insights.
  10. What happens when the DOJ outsources its investigations? Sara Kropf discusses on theGrand Jury Target Lawyers from RichardsKibbe discuss in NYU’s Compliance and EnforcementBlog.
  11. Two low level players convicted in NCAA bribery case. Billy Witz reports in the NYT.
  12. Tom has a special 5-part podcast series with Don Stern, Managing Director at AMI on Use of Monitors by Defense Counsel. Check out the following: Part 1-Introduction;Part 2-the Nuts and Bolts; Part 3– Case Studies; Part 4-in the Health Care industry; Part 5-Non-Profits and Varsity Blues. The podcast is available on multiple sites: the FCPA Compliance Report, iTunes, JDSupra, Megaphone,YouTube,  Spotifyand Corporate Compliance Insights. The Compliance Podcast Network
  13. Join Tom and Mike Volkov for a webinar on best practices internal investigations on the new DOJ 2019 Guidance, Friday May 17 at 2 PM EDT. It is sponsored by Hanzo and hosted by Sean Freidlin. For information and registration, click here.
  14. Join Tom and Jay at Compliance Week 2019. It is one of the top compliance and ethics conferences of the year. This year, Tom is joined by Jonathan Marks in leading a pre-conference workshop on Sunday afternoon about handling internal investigations and performing a root cause analysis. Monday will include a keynote address from the always popular Hui Chen, Tuesday Preet Bharara. To review the full agenda, see who is speaking or to review the registration information click on the appropriate link. Best of all, if you have read this blog,  you are eligible for a discount on the conference cost. Enter code “TOM300” at checkout to save $300 from your registration.
  15. Finally, if you are in Houston on May 16th please plan to join the Greater Houston Business and Ethics Roundtable to help us honor Protiviti’s Jim DeLoach as our 2019 Bette Steed Leadership in Business Ethics honoree. The event is form 6-9 PM. Details and registration are here.

Tom Fox is the Compliance Evangelist and can be reached at tfox@tfoxlaw.com. Jay Rosen is Mr. Monitor and can be reached at jrosen@affiliatedmonitors.com.
For more information on how an independent monitor can help improve your company’s ethics and compliance program, visit our sponsor Affiliated Monitors at www.affiliatedmonitors.com.

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Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: May 10, 2019-the what is hubris edition

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes defense? The government defrauded Theranos (not the other way around). (New York Times)
  • Wells Fargo creates new compliance position but promotes old employee into it. (Financial Times)
  • Too many auditor findings of insufficient controls? SEC solution, eliminate the requirement. (MarketWatch)
  • Deutsche Bank accused of bribery in London lawsuit. (Bloomberg)
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Everything Compliance

Everything Compliance-Episode 46, the 2019 Compliance Guidance

Welcome to the only roundtable podcast in compliance. Today, we have the full quintet of Mike Volkov, Jay Rosen, Matt Kelly, Jonathan Armstrong and our newest colleague, Sarah Hadden. We take on one topic which the panelist explores from their expertise. The topic is the Justice Department’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs-2019 Guidance which was recently released.

  1. Sarah Hadden puts on her journalist hat to consider the 2019 Guidance in the context of transparency by DOJ in releasing this information critical for compliance going forward. Sarah rants on all those in the Everything Compliance gang who attended the ECI Impact 2019 conference in her hometown of Dallas and did not reach out to connect with her. (And we know who we are)
  1. Matt Kelly considers some different questions such as: Is there anything new? Does it mean any difference in practice? Is it simply a way to wipe out one of the core legacies of Hui Chen? Matt rants on the Trump Administration which said only a couple of weeks ago said it was cracking down on Agency and Department Guidance and literally turns around and issues the 2019 Guidance. Which is it guys?
  1. Jay Rosen discuss the original Benczkowski Memo as a precursor to the new 2019 Guidance and how the Benczkowski Memo lays out a roadmap to avoid a monitor by using pro-active assessments. Jay shouts out to the Boston Red Sox for reaching .500. (Matt chastises Jay for now jinxing the Sox)
  1. Mike Volkov discusses how the Justice Department is using the state of compliance programs not only at time of violation but also at time of conclusion to reward companies with lower penalties. Mike shouts out to both Brian Benczkowski/DOJ for this new FCPA Compliance Guidance and the Department of Treasury for OFAC guidance around money-laundering and trade sanctions compliance programs.
  1. Jonathan Armstrong compares and contrasts the 2019 Guidance document with the information released by SFO on compliance programs. He then considers what a ‘good’ compliance program looks like in his search for a ‘good’ recipe for the perfect Tikka Masala. He rants about the first UK data privacy regulatory action under GDPR, where the UK data protection agency sanctioned the UK government for violation of GDPR.

The members of the Everything Compliance panelist are:

The host and producer (and sometime panelist) of Everything Compliance is Tom Fox the Compliance Evangelist. Everything Compliance is a part of the Compliance Podcast Network.

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Great Women in Compliance

Knocking for Opportunities with Lisa Estrada

We talked about what it’s like to go into law and compliance as a second career – Lisa started out work life in politics before going to law school as a young mum,  then working in health law in private practice before joining us at Fresenius Medical Care as the Chief Compliance Officer of the North America business.  Lisa gave advice for those wanting to get into healthcare compliance. Lisa gave her views on the benefits of proactively asking for opportunities at work to make your ambitions known.  We acknowledged that while this might be viewed as an aggressive move or maybe a staff member would be nervous about the reception if their requests were rejected, that overall this is a good tactic if you will for signaling to a manager that you’re hungry for more.  While the manager may not be in a position to grant you the precise request at the given time, at the very least it will show an attitude for wanting to develop and better yourself and the manager will now be conscious of what you’re looking for and look for other ways that may get you there if what you’ve suggested won’t work for the moment

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Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: May 8, 2019-the Is He or Isn’t He edition

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Judge says Roger Ng in negotiations with the DOJ, although his lawyer denies it. (New York Times)
  • Colleges in ‘Willful Ignorance’ of corruption, say it ain’t so. (Law360)
  • It’s a bad day when the FT Editorial Board spanks you. (Financial Times)
  • Former Danske bank CEO charged in money-laundering scandal? (Reuters)
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Innovation in Compliance

Civility as a Workplace Innovation with Carrie Penman


Is there still a place for good manners in today’s ruthless business world? Joining us today is Carrie Penman, the Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Vice President Advisory Services at NAVEX Global. She wrote an article entitled, The Cost of Incivility in the Workplace, and today we’re talking about why manners matter.

Why the article
So many people don’t have a good understanding of the fact that how you say something is as — or more — important than what you say. Think about what it’s like to be on the receiving end of the message you have to deliver. How would you want that to be said to you?
Rude, abusive, and harassing bullying behavior has been costing organizations big time for decades in terms of decreased productivity, lost top talent, loss of innovation, lower quality customer service, and more. Many of the reports that ethics and compliance officers receive over their hotlines are related to HR matters, and can lead to serious compliance violations.
The Era of the Jerk Manager is Over
It was once accepted and expected that it was okay for the boss to be a jerk. These days, it’s become a lot less acceptable. The course of our discourse and the political environment has raised the issue for so many people and the expectations of employees have changed. Jerk behavior is so toxic to our cultures, organizations, and our ability to succeed.
Committing to corporate values
Organizations have always had a set of core values, but the key is to commit to these values for them to have credibility. Is your organization living your core values in all aspects of your work? Are they enforced at all levels, i.e. no special rules for special people?
The only way for this to work is for organizations to recognize and discipline for inappropriate behavior, because if those behaviors are accepted, it drives cynicism. Carrie shares a company’s litmus test for their values: can you hire and fire by them?
We are all accountable
Employees may legitimately have a question or complaint about an interaction or a request from a manager, but it doesn’t give anybody the right to be rude or be a jerk. It’s basic human civility. Two wrongs don’t make a right: if the boss is being a jerk, that doesn’t mean the employee gets to be a jerk, too. We need to be accountable for our own behavior.
Be present professionally and personally. It all comes down to respect.
Resources
Carrie Penman
The Cost of Incivility in the Workplace 
Top 10 Ethics & Compliance Trends for 2019 
The Era of the Jerk Manager is Over

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Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: May 7, 2019-the Welcome to the US edition

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Roger Ng extradicted to US. (New York Times)
  • Closing arguments made in NCAA bribery scandal case. (ESPN)
  • Hell hath no fury like a competitor scorned. (Financial Times)
  • What happens when safety is ‘just a given’ at the Board level? (Washington Post)
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FCPA Compliance Report

FCPA Compliance Report-Episode 429, James Koukios on MoFo’s February Anti-Corruption Newsletter

In this episode I have back with me, fan favorite James Koukios, partner at Morrison and Foerster.  This is Part 2 of a two-part series where we discuss the firm’s always great Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments newsletter. In this episode, we take a look at some of the key highlights from the February newsletter. In the most recent episode, we detailed some of the key developments from the January newsletter. We also have a special segment on the FCPA Opinion Release Procedure. Some of the highlights from the podcast include:

  • DOJ Files $38 Million Civil Forfeiture Action in Connection with Malaysia Sovereign Wealth Fund Scandal
  • What is the role of civil forfeiture in anti-corruption enforcement?
  • 9thCircuit Court of Appeals Vacates Federal Whistleblower Retaliation Verdict Against Bio-Rad. What does this mean for whistleblower cases going forward?
  • UK Serious Fraud Office Closes Two Foreign Bribery Cases. Gutless move on the part of the new director or is something else going on?
  • What is the Opinion Release Procedure? How a company can use it? What happens on the DOJ side once a request comes into the DOJ?

For further reading, see the Morrison and Foerster Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments for February 2019, by clicking here.

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FCPA Compliance Report

Independent Monitoring and Proactive Assessments for Defense Attorneys-Part 5, In Non-Profits and Varsity Blues

In this five-part podcast series, sponsored by Affiliated Monitors, Inc. (AMI); I have been joined by AMI Managing Director Stern. We have considered how defense counsel can work proactively with independent monitors to help clients who may have sustained an ethical or compliance violation or are under government scrutiny for allegations of illegal misconduct in a wide variety of industries, disciplines and corporate settings. In this concluding episode, we look at a third-party independent in non-profit setting and how it could help universities survive Varsity Blues. Find out more about Affiliated Monitors Inc. by checking out their website here.

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FCPA Compliance Report

Independent Monitoring and Proactive Assessments for Defense Attorneys-Part 4, In the Health Care Industry

In this five-part podcast series, sponsored by Affiliated Monitors, Inc. (AMI); I am joined by AMI Managing Director Stern. We consider how defense counsel can work proactively with independent monitors to help clients who may have sustained an ethical or compliance violation or are under government scrutiny for allegations of illegal misconduct in a wide variety of industries, disciplines and corporate settings. In this fourth episode, we look at a third-party independent in the health care setting. Join us in our concluding episode in which we consider working with independent third-party monitor in the non-profit setting and the Varsity Blues scandal. Find out more about Affiliated Monitors Inc. by checking out their website here.