In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
“I believe that Yukos was Putin’s first foray into trying to test the West… and the West fell flat on their faces – they did absolutely nothing to help the Western shareholders in Yukos.” The lack of response from the West during the Yukos Affair encouraged Putin’s tyranny. Putin’s Oil Heist is an insider’s account of the Yukos Affair. In this final episode, Loren Steffy draws a line from the 2022 invasion of Ukraine back to the expropriation of Yukos in the early 2000s, with first-person accounts from former Chief Financial Treasurer, Bruce Misamore.
Hear him talk about:
- The West’s inaction. Yukos, in its bid to embrace Western standards of capitalism in the hopes of gaining a New York Stock Exchange listing, hired Misamore and other American shareholders. But when Putin’s government trumped up tax charges and used them to seize the entire company without compensating those shareholders, the US government did nothing. Misamore claims they could have made government-to-government claims on behalf of the shareholders that were harmed. The West’s failure to act became a pattern in the following years, which only emboldened Putin.
- Putin’s grand plans. Had the invasion of Ukraine gone the way he wanted, it’s likely that Putin wouldn’t have stopped there, Misamore contends. Putin regrets the fall of the Soviet Union, and there have been hints throughout his presidency that suggest his intention to revive it. His next logical target, after Ukraine, would have been Moldova, and then the rest of Georgia. The resistance of the Ukranians seems to have halted Putin’s thirst for conquest.
- The Russian people. The innocent citizens of Russia are not responsible for the actions of their government. Though Putin has improved their standard of living to keep up his popularity, they could easily be talked into going the other way. However, they’re scared and docile, behavior instilled by centuries of violent history, and they fear the dire consequences of rebellion. In addition, the government’s crackdown on independent media, prevents the people from getting an accurate view of the war in Ukraine.
- How the Yukos Affair influenced other companies’ attempts to do business in Russia. One such situation involved a joint venture between BP and the Russian company TNK, which eventually devolved into the same tensions that pervaded the Yukos steal. The Russians bristled at Western efforts to control the operations, which led to reports of break-ins at BP executive Bob Dudley’s Moscow apartment, threats of him being detained, and even word that there was poison found in his blood. Dudley, who later became chairman of BP before retiring in 2020, wound up fleeing Russia and the venture was sold to Rosneft.
Resources
Loren Steffy on LinkedIn
Stoney Creek Publishing
Categories
Episode 126 – Michael Duran
In this episode of The Ethics Experts, Nick welcomes Michael Duran. Michael is the Senior Vice President and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer at 3M. Michael leads 3M’s global Ethics & Compliance Department, driving innovations and enhancements to the program to identify, mitigate and address risk and build upon 3M’s strong ethical culture of Be 3M.
Categories
In Congress, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
The Department of Justice continues to respond to the compliance community’s concerns about the new certification requirement adopted as part of the Glencore FCPA enforcement action. DOJ has adopted this new requirement to “empower” CCOs and to ensure that CCOs have a “seat at the [senior management] table.” While these are all laudable goals, CCOs continue to question whether DOJ’s new certification requirement will undermine their authority by opening CCOs to internal pressure to execute a certification despite concerns about the status of a company’s compliance program. In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews DOJ’s new CCO certification requirement.
In this episode of Career Can Do, Mary Ann Faremouth chats with Michael Wenderoth, an executive coach who has helped thousands of aspiring leaders to leverage their power and ascend. He is a coach at Stanford Exec Ed, associate professor at IE Business School, and a sought after keynote speaker. Michael has worked with Harvard Business Review and Forbes. He talks about bringing value to your organization, and how to get promoted.
Michael’s book, Get Promoted: What You’re Really Missing at Work That’s Holding You Back, shows readers how to build their power. There are things you can do to move the needle – whether that’s within your company or as you’re transitioning into new spaces. The new work world has shifted a lot, but some of the principles remain the same. You have to be in tune with how you can help others be in tune with the leaders’ agendas.
We essentially have two goals in life, Michael adds, and they are to be loved and to have purpose. At the end of the day, it’s about work-life balance. If you’re in the right job, you’re going to go home and be a better parent; if you’re a good parent and have a good home life, you’re going back to work to be a good worker.
Resources
Michael on the web | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Faremouth.com
12 O’Clock High, a podcast on business leadership, brings together stories from history, the arts and movies, research and current events to consider leadership lessons. Richard Lummis and Tom Fox return to their exploration of American Presidents as they conclude a two-part series on Andrew Johnson. In this Part 2, they discuss Johnson’s career as Military Governor of Tennessee, his Vice Presidency, Presidency and Impeachment. Highlights include:
· Civil War
A. A southern Senator
B. Military Governor
· Vice President to President
A. Was he the obvious VP candidate?
B. Campaigning
C. His swearing-in debacle
· Where did it all go wrong?
A. Met Lincoln for the 1st day on the day he was shot
B. The franchise for blacks
C. Declaration of War against Congress
· Impeachment
A. What was Radical Reconstruction?
B. Tenure of office Act
C. Impeachment Trial
· Leadership Lessons
A. What about Johnson’s character led to impeachment?
B. Peter Principal at Work?
C. Was he the worst?
D. Final Thoughts
Resources
Andrew Johnson-UVA Miller Center
Is Andrew Johnson the worst president in American history?
Andrew Johnson: The most-criticized president ever?
Matthew Frank is Chief Legal Officer at PeopleConnect. He is an experienced legal and compliance executive in many industries including e-commerce, technology, hospitality, and manufacturing. Matthew joins host Gwen Hassan to discuss human trafficking in the hospitality industry.
Matthew previously served as Senior Vice President and Global Chief Compliance Officer at Las Vegas Sands Corps, where he was involved in the trafficking focus. They did extensive training with the front desk staff, teaching them to spot red flags at the check-in process, and with the housekeeping staff.
Staffing shortages can lead to human trafficking risks, Matthew claims. In a place like Singapore, where the majority of housekeeping staff are guest workers from other places in Southeast Asia, the big risk is the presence of labor brokers. They would recruit locals, mostly low-income young women, and essentially force them into indentured servitude.
Resources
Matthew Frank on LinkedIn
Jonathan Armstrong and Tom Fox return for another episode of Life with GDPR. In this episode, we review the recently released The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) recently issued its draft guidance on calculating fines entitled “Guidelines 04/2022 on the calculation of administrative fines under the GDPR”. Some of the highlights include:
1. There have been just under ‘1.5 billion in overall fines under GDPR.
2. Spain has the largest number of fines but the smallest monetary amount of fines.
3. The five-step calculation methodology.
4. What are the aggravating and mitigating factors.
5. Key takeaways from the draft guidance.
Resources
For more information on the draft guidance, check out the Cordery Compliance client alert on this topic; click here. For more information on Cordery Compliance, go to their website here. Also, check out the GDPR Navigator, one of the top resources for GDPR Compliance, by clicking here.