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EMBARGOED!

EMBARGOED! Episode 10: The Pod Where It Happened

Brian and Tim begin this episode of EMBARGOED! by analyzing how the revelations in John Bolton’s new memoir may impact recently enacted U.S. sanctions aimed at China and the ongoing U.S. criminal case against Huawei. Next, they discuss the recent BIS rule change aimed at getting U.S. companies back in the game (while sitting alongside Huawei) in connection with international standards setting organizations. They then turn their attention to a surprising move by DOJ to dismiss charges, after securing a conviction, in an Iran sanctions case in SDNY and share some theories about what may have gone wrong and the possible lasting impact. Finally, they consider the newly issued Executive Order that puts the International Criminal Court in the crosshairs of U.S. sanctions enforcers. Plus, the Lightning Round features quick takes on the latest Venezuela-related designations (and a few, more interesting, removals), OFAC’s initial implementation of the Caesar Act, and a speedy plea deal in an Iran sanctions case.

Like what you hear? Please subscribe! * Apple Podcasts * Spotify *  Amazon Music  * Google Podcasts * 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.
EMBARGOED! is intelligent talk about sanctions, export controls, and all things international trade for trade nerds and normal human beings alike, hosted by Miller & Chevalier Members Brian Fleming and Tim O’Toole. Each episode will feature deep thoughts and hot takes about the latest headline-grabbing developments in this area of the law, as well as some below-the-radar items to keep an eye on. Subscribe for new bi-weekly episodes so you don’t miss out!
Timestamps:
0:10 Introduction
2:51 Episode Roadmap
The Rundown
4:45 Fallout from Bolton’s Book
20:40 More Huawei
28:39 Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad Dismissal
49:44 New E.O. re: ICC
57:04 Lightning Round
57:17 More Venezuela Designations (and Some Removals)
1:01:23 Syria Designations/Caesar Act
1:05:32 Seyyed Shahidian Plea
1:08:56 Final Thoughts
***Stay sanctions free.***

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31 Days to More Effective Compliance Programs

The Board of Directors investigation protocol


Many companies have an investigation protocol in place when a potential compliance violation or other legal issue arises. However, many Boards of Directors do not have the same rigor when it comes to an investigation, which should be conducted or led by the Board itself. The consequences of this lack of foresight can be problematic, because if a Board does handle an investigation right, the consequences to the company, its reputation and value can be quite severe. The SEC considers a variety of factors around corporate investigations including: Did management, the board or committees consisting solely of outside directors oversee the review? Did company employees or outside persons perform the review? If outside persons, have they done other work for the company?
There is also a SOX role in internal investigations, most particularly for audit. Section 301 establishes certain requirements for Audit Committees, including: (1) Procedures for receipt, retention, and treatment of complaints received by the issuer regarding accounting, internal accounting controls, or auditing matters; (2) Procedures regarding the confidential, anonymous submission by employees of the issuer of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters; (3) Authority to engage independent counsel and other advisers, as it determines necessary to carry out its duties; and (4) Funding to engage advisors as it deems appropriate.
Three key takeaways:

  1. The Board should have a written protocol for investigations prepared in advance.
  2. Any Board led investigation must be both credible and objective.
  3. The investigation must be thorough but the Board can be cost effective.
Categories
Compliance and Coronavirus

Jesse Caplan on the Health Care Industry


Welcome to the newest addition to the Compliance Podcast Network, Compliance and Coronavirus. This week, I visit with three Managing Directors from Affiliated Monitors about issues they are seeing around Covid-19 and the economy reopening, each from their professional perspective. In this episode I visit with Jesse Caplan on some of the critical compliance issues facing the health care industry and health care providers as we move to businesses reopening.
Caplan is the Managing Director of Corporate Oversight for Affiliated Monitors.  Jesse is an attorney who has spent most of his career in the healthcare field, including as the General Counsel for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services.  At AMI, Jesse leads independent monitoring and proactive assessments of compliance and ethics programs in the healthcare industry, including hospitals, physicians, addiction drug treatment facilities, health insurers and others.
For more information on AMI, check out their website here.

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Great Women in Compliance

Kelly Paxton on Pink Collar Crime


Welcome to the Great Women in Compliance Podcast, co-hosted by Lisa Fine and Mary Shirley.
Compliance Officers are often generalists who dabble in fraud investigations from time to time when they crop up. So we invited Kelly Paxton who gets right in the weeds on fraud as her day job to help enlighten Compliance Officers more on the subject and share her fascinating stories on Pink Collar Crime. Did you know that there are some typical characteristics frequently found when women commit fraud or embezzle from organizations?  We discuss some of the commonalities, one of which indicates that the glass ceiling is pervasive even in misconduct!  Kelly explains Pink Collar Crime (spoiler alert, you don’t need to be a woman to commit pink collar crime, but many women do) and we discuss a couple of red flags that can indicate fraudulent behavior that Compliance Officers and investigators should be on the lookout for.
Lisa and Mary invite listeners to send in their essays on efforts to promote diversity and inclusion, a tribute to a mentor, productivity hacks or any of the other topics by July 1, 2020. Only one week to go before submissions close so get them in now!
Join the Great Women in Compliance community on LinkedIn here.

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Compliance Into the Weeds

Supreme Court Upholds Profit Disgorgement


Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. In this episode Matt Kelly and Tom Fox take a look this week’s United States Supreme Court decision in Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, which upheld the SEC remedy of profit disgorgement. We consider the background facts of the case and how the Court reached its decision. We also consider what the decision might mean for FCPA enforcement and compliance professionals going forward.
For a copy of the decision in Liu v. SEC, click here.

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Daily Compliance News

June 24, 2020-the Fourth Estate edition

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • FB hit in pocketbook for its fawning over Trump. (NYT)
  • SEC breathes a sigh of relief. (WSJ)
  • Former Wirecard CEO arrested. (WSJ)
  • The role of the press in ABC enforcement. (FT)
Categories
The Compliance Life

Ryan Rabalais – Company Culture and the Role of the CCO


The Compliance Life details the journey to and in the role of a Chief Compliance Officer. How does one come to sit in the CCO chair? What are some of the skills a CCO needs to success navigate the compliance waters in any company? What are some of the top challenges CCOs have faced and how did they meet them? These questions and many others will be explored in this new podcast series. Over four episodes each month on The Compliance Life, I visit with one current or former CCO to explore their journey to the CCO chair. This month, my guest is Ryan Rabalais, currently an Ethics and Compliance Officer at Bechtel Oil, Gas & Chemicals. Rabalais has been Vice President and CCO at both Rowan Companies and Paragon Offshore.
Ryan Rabalais has over two decades of legal and compliance experience in the oil and gas sector, including being a Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer for two different companies with global operations. Ryan has a history of providing practical solutions to the business and managing overall corporate and regulatory compliance programs. His compliance experience includes a particular focus on anti-corruption, sanctions, trade controls and US anti-boycott, with reporting responsibilities to senior management and the Board of Directors of large, publicly traded companies.
In this final episode, Ryan talks about the all-important role of culture in an organization and the role of the CCO in being a spokesman for culture. He concludes with some thoughts about the importance of institutional justice and institutional fairness and why the CCO needs to help lead this effort throughout the organization.

Categories
The Ethics Experts

TEE Vendor Pain Points Bonus Episode 005: HumanGood


On this special bonus episode of The Ethics Experts, we speak with Bethany Ghassemi and Troy Keach of HumanGood about why they took their compliance internal, and why company culture helps the department run smoothly.

Check out more episodes, and don’t forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform!

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Compliance and Coronavirus

Rod Grandon on Government Contractors

Welcome to the newest addition to the Compliance Podcast Network, Compliance and Coronavirus. This week, I visit with three Managing Directors from Affiliated Monitors about issues they are seeing around Covid-19 and the economy reopening, each from their professional perspective. In this episode I visit with Rod Grandon on issues around government contracting, government contractors and businesses which received PPP funding.
Grandon retired from the United States Government in 2017 after serving as a member of the Senior Executive Service with the Department of the Air Force and the US Coast Guard. Immediately prior to his retirement, Mr. Grandon was the Air Force Deputy General Counsel for Contractor Responsibility and Conflict Resolution. In that capacity, he served as the Air Force’s Suspending and Debarring Official, exercising authority to exclude contractors from the federal marketplace and entering into administrative agreements to provide contractors the opportunity to improve their operations and practices in lieu of suspension or debarment. He is the current co-chair of the ABA Public Contract Law Section, Suspension and Debarment Committee. He is a frequent speaker and lecturer on matters relating to contractor responsibility.
For more information on AMI, check out their website here.

Categories
Innovation in Compliance

Intersecting Law, Technology and Compliance with Melissa Koch


Melissa Koch is the CEO of InFront Compliance, an online assessment and reporting tool for highly regulated industries. She is a business, technology and data lawyer by trade, with over 20 years experience. As such, she has been at the forefront of the changing landscape of compliance. She chats with Tom Fox about how her company helps its clients navigate the intersection of law, technology and compliance.

The Intersection of Law, Technology and Compliance
“It’s always at the intersection that I think the most interesting things happen,” Melissa tells Tom. When you view compliance as an ecosystem – the intersection of law, technology and compliance as a unified field – you are able to see how they all work together to create an environment of collaboration and communication. Collaborative vendor risk management in particular, she explains, views compliance as an ecosystem with many stakeholders. It’s a way to facilitate lines of transparency between these stakeholders to enable reliability and consistency and to help define your company’s overall compliance posture. “And the foundation is really about communication and making sure you know who’s involved, what they’re doing, and having those sightlines and having that visibility to make much more informed decisions… on how to manage the compliance landscape.” 
Embracing Data In Real-Time Vendor Management
Tom asks how data fits into the collaborative ecosystem. Melissa responds that InFront Compliance embraces data because you can’t get the transparency to make better decisions without it. InFront creates and curates libraries of assessments for organizations in highly regulated industries such as financial services. Ensuring that their businesses stay compliant in a fast-changing regulatory landscape, is one way InFront serves their clients. They also foster a “continuous culture of compliance” so their clients can see where they have gaps and close them before they become a problem.
Building Resilience
A business is resilient if it’s able to bounce back quickly after an event that impacts its operations. Melissa remarks that resilience, policy development and change management all work together to make sure that your organization can effectively navigate any sudden and/or unforeseen changes. One way your company can build resilience is to adopt a dynamic and practical approach to policy development, Melissa says. “For those organizations that are adaptable and fluid in their ability to navigate change, are policies that live and breathe with the organization. So they are created specifically for that organization and how that organization does business. But they also have built into the policy regular review periods… It makes sure that everything is accurate and reflective of how that organization does business and when it’s not, then it changes… Those policies are there to help support the organization when there’s been a stress event for the organization.” 
Resources
InFrontCompliance.com
Email: melissa@infrontcompliance.com