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Daily Compliance News

August 2, 2022 the We Are the Champions edition

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Does corruption increase depression? (Dovetail Press)
  • ESG and Insurance. (Reuters)
  • Deshaun Watson gave 6 game suspension. (com)
  • English women bring it home. (ESPN)
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Daily Compliance News

August 1, 2022 the Farewell to Lt. Uhuru edition

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
• UAW is trying to shed the legacy of corruption. (NYT)
• Former Blue Bell CEO goes to trial. (Reuters)
• Bill Russell passes. (AndScape)
• Nichelle Nichols dies. (The Hollywood Reporter)

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Daily Compliance News

July 30, 2022 the Bend Every Rule edition

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Why Rotterdam balked. (NYT)
  • No deal, no audit. (Reuters)
  • Lawsuit over SEC whistleblower award. (WSJ)
  • Debt markets must pay attention to corruption. (FT)
Categories
Compliance Into the Weeds

Lessons from the Biotronik Anti-Kickback Enforcement Action

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, we take a deep dive into the recent settlement by Biotronik with the DOJ over allegations of the violation of the Anti-Kickback Statue  Highlights include:

  • Background facts.
  • Training programs as cover for bribes.
  • What is lavish entertainment?
  • What were the internal control failures?
  • Controls for high-risk payments.
  • Lessons learned for the ABC compliance professional.

Resources

Tom in the FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog

Part 1-Background

Part 2-the Bribery Schemes and Lessons Learned

Matt in Radical Compliance

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Daily Compliance News

July 27, 2022 the Mexico Addressing Corruption edition

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Is Mexico finally addressing corruption? (KRWG)
  • SEC won’t accept restrictions on Chinese audits. (Reuters)
  • KPMG fined by UK audit watchdog. (WSJ)
  • Kraken is under investigation for sanctions violations. (NYT)
Categories
The Corruption Files

How Corruption Happens in Tech

Thomas Fox and Michael DeBernardis discuss the inner workings of bribery in the tech industry, specifically cases involving HP, Microsoft, and Panasonic, the DOJ and SEC driving home the benefits of voluntary disclosure and their response to future cases, and how companies can practice due diligence even within internal controls.

Key points discussed in the episode:

✔️ Thomas Fox gives a brief background on the cases involving HP, Microsoft, and Panasonic.

✔️ Michael DeBernardis lays out the DOJ and SEC’s investigative process, with a focus on the benefits of voluntary disclosure. Data analytics has also been tossed in the forefront as Microsoft pioneered the transparency of looking into their distributor models and has now been added to compliance guidelines.

✔️ Petty cash has been proven to be an aspect worth examining as HP’s bribery case revolved around the lack of controls. HP’s schemes in Germany and Mexico also emphasized why training your team – whether contractual or full-time – should be trained to handle high-risk situations.

✔️ Internal and compliance controls must be interconnected. Otherwise, wrongdoers will find loopholes and take advantage of them. Making sales to a foreign government also means putting a target on your back.

✔️ Thomas Fox goes into detail about Panasonic’s case regarding corrupt agents, Microsoft’s move towards transaction monitoring, and HP’s suspicious commission discounts coinciding with the Parker Drilling case.

✔️ The DOJ has now provided clear guidance for compliance. Companies are now encouraged to fully disclose their transactions to benefit them in terms of credibility and reduced total penalties.

✔️ Greatly improving their responses, the DOJ has understood the value of cooperation and voluntary disclosure and widened its body of FCPA cases, making it easier for lawyers to counsel companies in preventing future issues from happening.

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Do you have a podcast (or do you want to)? Join the only network dedicated to compliance, risk management, and business ethics, the Compliance Podcast Network. For more information, contact Tom Fox at tfox@tfoxlaw.com.

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Daily Compliance News

July 26, 2022 the Extradition edition

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

Categories
FCPA Compliance Report

Alvarez & Marsal Threatscape 2022 Report

In this episode of the FCPA Compliance Report, I am joined by Keith Williamson and Henry Chambers, Managing Directors at Alvarez and Marsal. We look at the firm’s Threatscape Report. Highlights of this podcast include:

A.    Threat 1-ABC Threats

  1. Why do you see a potential increase in anti-corruption investigations?
  2. In addition to the US under the FCPA, do you see other countries are actively assisting US authorities in ABC investigations?
  3. The new DOJ Monaco Doctrine reinstate the Yates Memo and the DOJ focus on individuals.  What does this mean for ABC investigations?
  4. What are some of the key challenges in handling investigations in China?
  5. How does this increase in ABC enforcement impact M&A?

B.     Threat 2-Fraud and Digital Asset Fraud Threats

  1. What are digit assets and digit asset fraud?
  2. The US has not yet released many regulations regarding cryptocurrency. What is the role of other countries in such regulation, if any?
  3. Why is the Ukraine war the first ‘digital asset war’?
  4. How have the worldwide sanctions against Russia impacted the growth and use of digit assets?
  5. What are the key controls and screen tools for digital assets that you advocate a company employ?

C.     Threat 3-Data Privacy and Data Protection

  1. What is the Personal Information Protection Law and how does it relate to the Chinese State Secrets and Data Security Laws?
  2. How can a non-Chinese company get data out of China?
  3. What are some of the key components of compliance program for this new law?
  4. How does this new law impact investigations in China?

Resources

Categories
Daily Compliance News

July 21, 2022 the JPMorgan Whistleblower Headed to Trial edition


In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Banks are turning to AI more and more for compliance issues. (WSJ)
  • JPMorgan whistleblower headed to trial. (Bloomberg)
  • Corruption concerns in Ukraine rear ugly head. (NPR)
  • Gibson Dunn accuses King & Spalding. (Reuters)
Categories
The Corruption Files

Uncovering the Hidden Schemes in Pharma with Tom Fox and Michael DeBernardis

Thomas Fox and Michael DeBernardis shed light on the bribery schemes highlighted in the cases of Eli Lilly, Fresenius, and Teva and present the prosecutorial investigation, the questionable donations and expenses, preventative measures for companies to implement, and practicing due diligence to minimize risk.

Key points discussed in the episode:
✔️ Thomas Fox introduces the cases involving Eli Lilly, Fresenius, and Teva.
✔️ Michael DeBernardis breaks down the DOJ and SEC’s investigative process in uncovering Eli Lilly’s bribery schemes – by looking into other companies from similar industries and asking the pressing questions.
✔️ Thomas Fox describes the bribes made: money going to hospitals and to the doctors and nurses directly, sending individuals to five-star resorts for fake conferences and speeches, and paying for articles that were never published. Any prior SCC reinforcement action is already a red flag.
✔️ The Eli Lilly case has made companies warier of working with government officials as a Polish state-owned health organization was involved. Also, the intent of the fraudulent talks and events was fairly obvious from a prosecutorial perspective.
✔️ Michael DeBernardis and Thomas Fox share advice on how companies should approach charitable donations: Know where your money is going, do background checks on the receiving organization and publicize all donations.
✔️ Eli Lilly’s exceeding discount for a certain distributor was pushed to the spotlight. Overriding internal controls requires documenting for a business reason. Most due diligence problems can be solved by looking closer at business justifications.