All articles by Jaclyn Jaeger – Page 102
-
Blog
Hitachi Settles FCPA Charges With SEC for $19 Million
Tokyo-based Hitachi reached a $19 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by inaccurately recording improper payments to South Africa’s ruling political party in connection with contracts to build two multi-billion dollar power plants. More inside.
-
Blog
Reminder: New FAR Thresholds for 2015
Reminder: revised acquisition-related dollar thresholds amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation for government contractors take effect Oct. 1. Government contractors should be aware of these adjustments since they affect a number of areas, including when contractors must report the executive compensation of their first-tier subcontracts, when they must report certified cost ...
-
Blog
Two More Banks Reach Agreements Under Swiss Bank Program
The Department of Justice last week announced that two more banks—Migros Bank and Graubündner Kantonalbank—have reached resolutions under the Department’s Swiss Bank Program, which provides a means for Swiss banks to resolve potential criminal liabilities in the United States. Migros will pay a $15 million penalty, and Graubündner will pay ...
-
Blog
Hudson City Bancorp to Pay $33M on Lending Practices
Hudson City Savings Bank today reached a $33 million settlement with the Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to resolve allegations that it engaged in discriminatory mortgage lending practices against predominantly African American and Hispanic neighborhoods. “This resolution represents the Justice Department’s largest residential mortgage 'redlining' settlement ...
-
Blog
Caldwell Clarifies Application of the Yates Memo
During remarks at a recent conference in New York, Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell offered some additional insight to companies on the Yates Memo regarding individual accountability for corporate wrongdoing. “We will make efforts to credit, not penalize, diligent investigations,” she said. More of her comments are inside.
-
Article
Managing Cyber-Risk in the Aviation Industry
Cyber-risks are increasing everywhere, and this week we look specifically at the aerospace sector. Recent high-profile data breaches at major airlines have jolted the industry, which is trying to piece together better ways to manage the risks. “Airplanes themselves have never been more complex, never been more reliant on technology. ...
-
Blog
Adventist Health to Pay $115 Million for False Claims Act Violations
Adventist Health System, a non-profit healthcare organization that operates hospitals and other health care facilities in 10 states, this week agreed to pay $115 million to the government to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by maintaining improper compensation arrangements with referring physicians and by miscoding claims. ...
-
Article
Navigating Global Internal Investigations Under Main Justice’s New Policy
Image: The Justice Department’s new Yates Memo, demanding much more cooperation from companies to find individual wrongdoers, will pressure companies to pressure employees during internal investigations. In Europe and elsewhere, however, the law favors employees much more than in the United States, making global investigations a tall order. “Most developed ...
-
Blog
Analogic Proposes $1.6 Million FCPA Settlement
Analogic, an airport security and medical-imaging technology provider, said in a quarterly filing this week that it has proposed a $1.6 million settlement to the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case.The potential sanctions concern certain questionable transactions involving Analogic’s Danish subsidiary BK Medical and ...
-
Blog
GM to Pay $900 Million to Resolve Criminal Charges in Product Safety Case
General Motors today agreed to a $900 million forfeiture to resolve criminal charges for wire fraud and for concealing information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning safety defects in its vehicles. The automaker also entered into a deferred prosecution agreement under which it admitted that it failed to ...
-
Article
Preventing an FTC Cyber-Security Action
Image: A federal appeals court has upheld the Federal Trade Commission’s efforts to sanction companies for poor data security practices—which opens a new front of cyber-security compliance and legal risks for Corporate America. “Basically, if consumers trust you with data, you need to use reasonable business efforts to honor that ...
-
Article
New NLRB Standard Causes Compliance Joint Pains
Image: The National Labor Relations Board has startled Corporate America with its recent ruling that drastically expands the definition of a “joint employer.” Compliance officers should scramble for all those contracts your company has with staffing agencies, franchisees, and similar parties; review them closely to shed any right of control ...
-
Blog
Federal Judge Limits Scope of FCPA Liability
A recent decision by U.S. District Judge Janet Arterton for the District of Connecticut has rejected the Department of Justice's "accomplice" theory of liability under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, substantially limiting the reach of the government’s enforcement arm under the FCPA. The ruling in the case, in favor of ...
-
Blog
Transocean General Counsel Departs
Transocean, an international provider of offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells, this week announced that Lars Sjöbring, senior vice president and general counsel, has informed Transocean that he will be leaving the company. More inside.
-
Blog
Third Citigroup Compliance Update Posted
More than one year after Citigroup’s $7 billion landmark settlement with the government to resolve a federal investigation into the sale of sub-prime mortgages comes the third report on the bank’s progress. Details of the report include an assessment of Citi’s consumer relief efforts through March 31 and a review ...
-
Article
ISO 20022: Tepid U.S. Embrace for New Financial Standard
Image: The push to adopt a new ISO standard for financial transactions is gaining momentum on a global scale—even as the United States continues to weigh the business case for it. “It’s important because it is seen as the standard that all new financial transactions will move to over time,” ...
-
Article
Global Transparency Failures Endure, Adding Risk
Image: One of the great challenges for U.S. compliance officers as they build global programs is the basic lack of transparency into enforcement information in other countries. Two new reports give a better scope of the problem, even if the picture revealed is not terribly encouraging. “Getting access to information ...
-
Blog
UBS to Pay $1.7 Million for Sanctions Violations
Swiss bank UBS yesterday reached a $1.7 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to resolve allegations that it violated global terrorism sanctions regulations. Lessons learned from the bank’s compliance failures, as well as the mitigating factors that reduced the penalty amount, are inside.
-
Article
Don’t Let Bad Culture Short-Circuit Your Training
A compliance training program is only as effective as the corporate culture it stands upon—which means employee cynicism and fear of retaliation need to be addressed first if you ever hope your training program will matter. Inside we look at how CCOs can combat cynicism, even when it takes a ...
-
Article
More Cyber-Security Guidelines for Govt Contractors
Image: The Obama Administration is considering new cyber-security guidance that would effectively impose stringent new reporting obligations on government contractors. That means more due diligence on third parties, and a review of contract language to see who is responsible for what. “[E]verybody is going to need to get their cyber-house ...