All Anti-Bribery articles – Page 48
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Blog
Holy Orders: Vatican Picks Up Pace in AML Fight
Image: In recent years money laundering has engulfed numerous international institutions, such as the Vatican, which has been roundly criticized by Italian prosecutors for both its failure to carry out appropriate due diligence over its customers and its inability to track suspicious transactions. Those criticisms have led to some dramatic ...
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Blog
PetroBras Denies Potential FCPA Settlement
Image: Last week PetroBras said in an SEC filing that it is not working with U.S. regulators to end the long list of corruption charges leveled against the company. That statement is merely the latest in a long list of unusual events in the compliance spectacle that PetroBras has become, ...
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Blog
Few OECD Member Countries Make Good on Anti-Bribery Pledge
Many of the member countries to the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention are not doing enough to prevent bribery and corruption, according to a new report from Transparency International. Twenty-two of the 41 signatory countries have “failed to investigate or prosecute any foreign bribery case during the last four years,” TI said. ...
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Blog
Walmart FCPA Costs Reach $675 Million
Walmart disclosed in an earnings call that its costs for potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act have well surpassed the half-billion dollar mark, reaching a whopping $675 million. To date, the retail giant has spent $63 million in total FCPA-related expenses in fiscal year 2016. Details inside.
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Blog
BNY Mellon Settles FCPA Charges for $14.8 Million
The Bank of New York Mellon has agreed to pay $14.8 million to the SEC to settle charges that the bank awarded plum internships to the relatives of Mideast government officials in exchange for business managing those countries’ sovereign wealth funds. “These officials sought, and BNY Mellon agreed to provide, ...
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Blog
FIFA Takes Steps Toward Transparency
Image: FIFA, the governing body for professional soccer that is mired in controversy and allegations of corruption, may be taking the first steps to transparency and better performance: The group has hired an outside law firm to conduct an exhaustive look at its business practices and to review possible corrupt ...
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The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Modern FCPA Enforcement
I recently saw the movie The Man From U.N.C.L.E. It was a rollicking good movie, stylish, set in great locations, with a fabulous score and all the Guy Ritchie touches you would expect. The action all took place in Europe and the locals and governmental cooperation among the U.S., U.K. ...
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Blog
Soma Oil & Gas Faces Corruption Probe by SFO
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office recently announced that it has opened a criminal investigation into London-based Soma Oil & Gas Holdings relating to allegations of corruption in Somalia. Soma Oil & Gas confirmed that it has been informed by the agency of the investigation. More inside.
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Blog
SciClone Could Pay SEC $12.8 Million in FCPA Case
SciClone Pharmaceuticals has disclosed in a quarterly report that it’s discussing a tentative $12.8 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve an investigation of potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act with respect to its China operations. Details inside.
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Blog
Ex-SAP Executive Pleads to FCPA Charges
The Justice Department and SEC jointly announced an enforcement action on Wednesday against a former executive of SAP International for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing officials in Panama to win government contracts. Vicente Eduardo Garcia, 65, will pay damages totalling $92,300 and faces sentencing later this ...
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Blog
The Current State of the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office
Image: Britain’s Serious Fraud Office appears to be under intense pressure, amid the announcement that another part of the government, led by International Development Secretary Justine Greening, is launching a new specialized anti-corruption unit to investigate cases of international corruption affecting developing countries. While the SFO achieved a significant victory ...
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New U.K. Crime Unit to Investigate Corruption Affecting Developing Countries
Image: The U.K.’s Department for International Development is stepping up its efforts to investigate cases of international corruption affecting developing countries through a new specialist unit launched by International Development Secretary Justine Greening. “Through the international corruption unit, the best of British law enforcement will step up our aid work ...
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Blog
The Man From FCPA Arrives
Today, I begin a blogging series for Compliance Week as The Man From FCPA. Our goal is to provide you with up-to-date information on all things related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and anti-corruption overall. I will cover FCPA issues that have a U.S.-centric focus, and also other anti-corruption ...
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Blog
NCR Dodges FCPA Enforcement Action by SEC
NCR, an automated-teller machine company, recently announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission has decided not to recommend an enforcement action against it in connection with a previously disclosed investigation into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The allegations related to the company’s compliance with the FCPA and ...
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Blog
Vantage Drilling Company Self-Reports FCPA Probe
Offshore drilling contractor, Vantage Drilling Company, announced this month in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has launched an internal investigation into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Vantage said it is investigating allegations in connection with an agent's "role in obtaining bribes on ...
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Article
Q&A: How PetroTiger Avoided FCPA Prosecution
Image: As part of our occasional series of conversations with voices in the compliance world, we caught up with Timothy Treanor, a partner with law firm Sidley Austin who represented oil and gas company PetroTiger. In June, PetroTiger became just the second company in recent history of the Foreign Corrupt ...
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Louis Berger International to Pay $17.5 Million for FCPA Violations
U.S.-based construction management company Louis Berger International has reached a $17.1 million settlement with the Department of Justice to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when it bribed foreign officials in Asia to secure government construction management contracts. Two of the company’s former executives also ...
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Blog
FCPA Actions Down, Declinations Up
The Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission resolved eight Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions so far in 2015—the lowest mid-year total in a decade, according to recent analysis from law firm Miller & Chevalier. “This slow-down seems to be attributable, in part, to a greater emphasis on declinations ...
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New Zealand to Extend AML Efforts
In a keynote speech today at the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering in Auckland, New Zealand's Justice Minister Amy Adams said the government has begun preliminary work to extend anti-money laundering compliance obligations on more professions and companies, including lawyers, accountants, and businesses that deal in high-value goods, subjecting ...
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Two South African Companies Dodge FCPA Charges
The Securities and Exchange Commission this month closed two separate investigations into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act without bringing any enforcement actions. Each investigation involved alleged bribery payments made by South African companies. Details inside.