Tag: sanctions

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Compliance Into the Weeds

Compliance into the Weeds: OFAC’s Warning Shot: FTI Consulting Fined for Indirect Dealings with Sanctioned Bank

The award-winning Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast that takes a deep dive into a compliance-related topic, literally going into the weeds to explore it in greater depth. Looking for some hard-hitting insights on compliance? Look no further than Compliance into the Weeds! In this episode of Compliance into the Weeds, Tom Fox and Matt Kelly discuss a recent OFAC enforcement action fining FTI Consulting $1.05 million for a sanctions violation involving indirect dealings with Russia’s state-owned VTB Bank.

FTI provided economic analysis for VTB in litigation, but, knowing VTB was sanctioned, used a law firm as an intermediary to invoice and receive payment, which OFAC said does not avoid liability because prohibitions apply to indirect transactions as well as direct ones. OFAC doubled the base penalty of $525,000 explicitly to promote future compliance by similarly situated companies, signaling strong disapproval of “middleman” structures. The case also involved unpaid invoices that became an impermissible extension of credit to a sanctioned entity, highlighting the need for rigorous contract and payment-term review beyond basic sanctions screening and for dedicated sanctions expertise.

Key highlights:

  • Introducing the OFAC Case
  • Middleman Billing Scheme
  • Why Screening Misses Indirect Risk
  • Did Compliance Approve It?
  • OFAC Expectations and Capability
  • Penalty Doubled Warning Shot
  • Unpaid Invoices as Credit Extension

Resources:

Matt in Radical Compliance

Tom

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A multi-award-winning podcast, Compliance into the Weeds was most recently honored as one of the Top 25 Regulatory Compliance Podcasts, a Top 10 Business Law Podcast, and a Top 12 Risk Management Podcast. Compliance into the Weeds has been conferred the Davey, Communicator, and W3 Awards, all for podcast excellence.

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Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: June 10, 2026, The Integrity is Not Optional Edition

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen in to the Daily Compliance News. All, from the Compliance Podcast Network. Each day, we consider four stories from the business world, compliance, ethics, risk management, leadership, or general interest for the compliance professional.

Top stories include:

  • Hungary is using AI to track down the proceeds of Orbán’s corruption. (FT)
  • US expands list of sanctioned Chinese companies. (WSJ)
  • Italian Court takes over US builder in Italy. (Reuters)
  • Hong Kong head of ABC says integrity is non-negotiable. (SCMP)

To learn about the intersection of Sherlock Holmes and the modern compliance professional, check out Tom’s latest book, The Game is Afoot-What Sherlock Holmes Teaches About Risk, Ethics and Investigations on Amazon.com.

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Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: June 5, 2026, The Profit Disgorgement Edition

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen in to the Daily Compliance News. All, from the Compliance Podcast Network. Each day, we consider four stories from the business world, compliance, ethics, risk management, leadership, or general interest for the compliance professional.

Top stories include:

  • Sanctions gaps and ABC governance risks.  (JustSecurity)
  • SCt upholds SEC right to profit disgorgement. (NYT)
  • Top AI leaders call for a fight against Biological Weapons. (WSJ)
  • Gen Z in the office. (FT)

To learn about the intersection of Sherlock Holmes and the modern compliance professional, check out Tom’s latest book, The Game is Afoot-What Sherlock Holmes Teaches About Risk, Ethics and Investigations on Amazon.com.

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From the Editor's Desk

From the Editor’s Desk: Aaron Nicodemus Reflections on March and April in Compliance Week

In this episode of From the Editor’s Desk, Tom Fox sits down with Aaron Nicodemus for a lively and insightful look back at the biggest compliance stories from March, while also previewing the trends, enforcement issues, and events set to shape April. They also begin the countdown to the 2026 Compliance Week National Conference in May.

Tom and Aaron break down the fast-moving, policy-driven shifts in U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, Iran, and Russia, and explore how companies are balancing business opportunities with escalating geopolitical and compliance risks amid a volatile oil market. They spotlight Compliance Week’s feature on illegal mining, unpacking its deep connections to financial crime, corruption, and supply chain exposure. The conversation also examines a notable March FCPA declination under the DOJ’s new Corporate Enforcement Policy, focusing on what it signals about voluntary self-disclosure, remediation, cooperation credit, and the Department’s continued emphasis on prosecuting individuals. Along the way, they consider possible aggravating factors, including payments tied to designated criminal or terrorist groups, and what these developments may mean for the future of cross-border enforcement cooperation.

Looking ahead, Tom and Aaron preview the 2026 Compliance Week National Conference, taking place May 6–8 in Washington, DC, including awards finalists, anticipated remarks from DOJ and SEC officials, and timely sessions on AI, whistleblowers, and emerging compliance challenges. They also highlight the conference’s expanded commitment to new voices and share an early look at the Third Party Risk Management & Supply Chain Summit, coming October 26–28 in Chicago.

 

 Resources:

Aaron Nicodemus on LinkedIn

Compliance Week

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FCPA Compliance Report

FCPA Compliance Report: Venezuela Re-Entry: A Strategy of Watchful Waiting

Welcome to the award-winning FCPA Compliance Report, the longest-running podcast in compliance. In this episode, Tom welcomes Morgan Lewis partners Carl Valenstein (international corporate law, Latin America) and Katelyn Hilferty (international trade, export controls and sanctions) on whether businesses should consider returning to Venezuela after Maduro’s arrest and President Trump’s announcement. Ed. Note: this podcast was recorded in February, and since then, OFAC has issued New and amended Venezuelan-related General Licenses. The situation remains fluid.

Valenstein leads off by noting that he is counselling businesses to engage in “watchful waiting” due to continued instability, corruption, weakened institutions, security risks, uncertainty about elections, and a lack of clear U.S. incentives, such as political risk insurance. Hilferty explains that sanctions relief is narrow: two limited OFAC general licenses focused on Venezuelan-origin oil and U.S.-origin diluents, while most sanctions and broad export control restrictions remain in effect, with licenses revocable. They discuss payment and transparency concerns, large outstanding debts, and major capital and operational challenges to restore oil production. They advise companies to review licenses, establish compliance guardrails, screen counterparties, and draft contract and payment terms before pursuing opportunities.

Key highlights:

  • What Changed in Venezuela
  • Watchful Waiting Reality Check
  • License Reversals and Uncertainty
  • Compliance Starting Point Checklist
  • Cartels and Terror Designations
  • Beyond Oil and Gas Opportunities

Resources:

Morgan Lewis

Carl Valenstein

Katelyn Hilferty

Tom Fox

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Returning to Venezuela on Amazon.com

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Compliance Into the Weeds

Compliance into the Weeds: Truth Stranger the Fiction: Binance, Iran, Crypto and Compliance

The award-winning Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast that takes a deep dive into a compliance-related topic, literally going into the weeds to explore it more fully. Looking for some hard-hitting insights on compliance? Look no further than Compliance into the Weeds! In this episode of Compliance into the Weeds, Tom Fox and Matt Kelly look at recent reporting on Binance that raises questions about the effectiveness of its compliance program, monitorships, and executive attitudes toward compliance.

They recap Binance’s 2023 resolution of U.S. criminal and civil matters involving money laundering and sanctions evasion. They discuss the Fortune article, which reported that Binance continued to route funds through its platform to the Iranian government in 2024 and into 2025. They highlight Mr. Zou’s public response on X, suggesting that if investigators found misconduct, it implied they failed to prevent it, which the hosts criticize as a misunderstanding that business units own risk and that compliance’s role is to provide systems, channels, oversight, and escalation rather than “prevent” all misconduct.

Key highlights:

  • Truth Stranger Than Fiction in Compliance
  • Binance’s 2023 Guilty Plea, $4.3B Penalty & Two Monitorships
  • Compliance Team Fallout: Investigators Fired & CCO on the Move
  • ‘If You Found It, You Failed’: Why CEOs Misunderstand Compliance
  • Iran as the Red Line: Plea Agreement Breach, Politics, and Corruption Risk
  • Will Anyone Enforce This? Rule of Law Questions and What Comes Next

Resources:

Matt in Radical Compliance

Tom

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A multi-award-winning podcast, Compliance into the Weeds was most recently honored as one of the Top 25 Regulatory Compliance Podcasts, a Top 10 Business Law Podcast, and a Top 12 Risk Management Podcast. Compliance into the Weeds has been conferred a Davey, a Communicator Award, and a W3 Award, all for podcast excellence.

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Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: October 28, 2025, The Sleeper Issue Edition

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen in to the Daily Compliance News. All, from the Compliance Podcast Network. Each day, we consider four stories from the business world, compliance, ethics, risk management, leadership, or general interest for the compliance professional.

Top stories include:

  • Corruption probe in Mongolia. (WSJ)
  • How will the US define ‘country of origin’? (NYT)
  • US sanctions the Colombian President for ‘not doing enough.’ (WSJ)
  • Sports and mafia ties run deep. (ESPN)

The Daily Compliance News has been honored as the No. 2 in the Best Regulatory Compliance Podcasts category.

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Red Flags Rising

Red Flags Rising: S01 E29: Affiliates Rule Aftermath – Finding the Right Path Forward

Mike and Brent take an even deeper dive into the “Affiliates” or “50%” Rule announced by the Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) on September 29, 2025. They identify several misperceptions in the public discussion, explain why they are misperceptions, and identify the pitfalls of operating under those misperceptions—especially in response to inquiries by BIS about pre-rule due diligence on affiliates of entities on the entity list. Specifically, they discuss why the Affiliates Rule is a close cousin to the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s own 50% rule, but why and how BIS’s Affiliates Rule serves different national security objectives and operates a bit differently (02:42); whether the Affiliates Rule brings new compliance burdens and, if so, risk-based due diligence strategies and likely questions from BIS regarding why (10:26); why in the current geopolitical context the benefit of local, boots-on-the-ground compliance might be overstated—or significantly discounted by the U.S. government—and what to do about it (16:18); why it would be a mistake to think that BIS is not today able to bring enforcement actions based on the Affiliate Rule, especially given their ability to bring enforcement actions on the “full” definition of knowledge to include “an awareness of a high probability” (19:26); and why it is dangerous to think of “knowledge” as only “actual knowledge,” and thereby misperceiving that the new Affiliates Rule—by reminding everyone that the catch-all provision under which the Entity List is promulgated is a strict-liability regulation, even as to awareness—has someone taken away a previously available “absence of actual knowledge” defense (23:00).

Mike and Brent then offer practical tips for applying for the license available under the Affiliates Rule for situations where the exporter, reexporter, or transferor is aware of “red flags” as to ownership that it cannot resolve through risk-based due diligence (28:20).

Mike and Brent then conclude with a special edition of Brent Carlson’s “Managing Up,” in which Brent offers some valuable self-reflection (34:58).

Resources:

More about Brent: www.redflagsrising.com

Contact Brent: brent@redflagsrising.com

Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mhuneke/, https://www.morganlewis.com/bios/michaelhuneke

Contact Mike: michael.huneke@morganlewis.com

BIS’s “Export Control Decision Tree”

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Red Flags Rising

Red Flags Rising: S01 E28: The Long-Awaited “50% Rule” – Key Takeaways and Liability Pitfalls to Avoid

Mike and Brent return with their take on a hotter-than-hot topic, the Bureau of Industry & Security’s new “50% Rule,” effective yesterday, September 29, 2025. Mike and Brent discuss the news of the rule’s announcement and the basics of what it does (00:46); the fact that the rule was effective immediately upon filing for public review, i.e., on September 29, 2025 (02:24); the fact that 50% is not some threshold under which risk goes away (06:19); how commentary suggesting that a “loophole” has been closed is not entirely accurate because such a loophole never existed in the first place (08:12); the requirements (including a description of due diligence performed) under a new, unique license application process (09:45); what enforcement risks are likely to arise in the government’s implementation of the new rule, especially if the government compares pre-rule trade flows to post-rule trade flows (10:43); the importance of not making a quick decision in how to respond to the new rule that you might later regret (12:23); the dangers of misreading the new rule to permit entity-shifting as an appropriate response (15:53); BIS’s caution that the rest of the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR) still apply, separately from the Entity List (18:43); the admonition by BIS that “exporters, reexporters, and transferors have an affirmative responsibility to know the ownership of the foreign companies that are parties to a transaction” (19:45); the statement in the rule that those same actors “must adopt a risk-based compliance program to assist them in complying with these requirements” (20:14); the new “Red Flag 29” added to the BIS Know-Your-Customer (KYC) Guidance (21:05); and the importance of the explanatory text’s reference to “control” (irrespective of ownership) by a listed entity as a “red flag” requiring further due diligence (21:59).

Mike and Brent conclude with another installment, back by popular demand, of Brent Carlson’s “Managing Up” segment (24:57).

Resources:

Brent’s new contact information: brent@redflagsrising.com

Mike’s new contact information: michael.huneke@morganlewis.com

Brent LinkedIn

Mike LinkedIn

The U.S. export controls “Country List” (Supplement No. 1 to Part 740)

The BIS Press Release (with a link to the new rule)

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Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: September 30, 2025, The 996 Edition

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen in to the Daily Compliance News. All, from the Compliance Podcast Network. Each day, we consider four stories from the business world, including compliance, ethics, risk management, leadership, or general interest, relevant to the compliance professional.

Top stories include:

  • LRN named top compliance training provider. (Yahoo! Finance)
  • State of Texas to end ABA law school oversight. (Reuters)
  • More sanctions on the Chinese tech sector. (WSJ)
  • Will 996 come to compliance? (NYT)