All articles by Jaclyn Jaeger – Page 103
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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
Lumber Liquidators Names Chief Compliance Officer
Lumber Liquidators has named Jill Witter as chief compliance and legal officer. Her appointment comes at a time when the embattled hardwood flooring company faces allegations that it sold Chinese-manufactured laminated wood products containing high levels of formaldehyde, posing serious health risks. More inside.
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Article
The Global State of the Right To Be Forgotten
More than a year after the EU established is right-to-be-forgotten principle, U.S. compliance professionals in the tech sector probably wish the decision itself could be forgotten, too. France is insisting that the principle be applied worldwide; even before that ever happens, compliance within Europe is laborious and complicated. Our latest ...
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Article
The Current State of SEC Whistleblower Guidance
The SEC’s latest guidance on whistleblower protection, confirming that employees need not report misconduct first to the SEC to win anti-retaliation protections, seems at first glance to be good news for internal compliance programs. For corporations as a whole, less so. Inside, we take a deeper look at the limits ...
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Blog
Citigroup Affiliates to Pay $180 Million for Hedge Fund Fraud
Two Citigroup affiliates—Citigroup Global Markets and Citigroup Alternative Investments—today agreed to pay nearly $180 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges that they defrauded investors in two hedge funds by claiming they were safe, low-risk, and suitable for traditional bond investors. The funds later crumbled and eventually ...
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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
FTC Issues First-Ever Guidance on Unfair Competition
After more than 100 years, it has finally happend: the Federal Trade Commission has published guidance on what it considers “unfair” competition. The pronouncement is a welcome development for companies, as they now have at least some idea as to what activity could potentially result in a FTC investigation. More ...
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Blog
Edward Jones to Pay $20M for Overcharging Customers in Municipal Bond Sales
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged brokerage firm Edward Jones and the former head of its municipal underwriting desk have agreed to settle charges that they overcharged customers in new municipal bonds sales. It’s the SEC’s first case against an underwriter for pricing-related fraud in the primary market for ...
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Blog
Benchmark Report Shows Latest Trends in Training Programs
A new report conducted by NAVEX Global offers fresh benchmarking data for ethics and compliance officers looking to see how their training program, objectives, and challenges compare to their peers. Among the findings: employee cynicism and fear of retaliation for speaking up about misconduct are the top two challenges to ...
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Blog
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
Former Wells Fargo Compliance Officer Wins SEC Case
A former compliance officer of Wells Fargo Advisors who faced an enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission last year for allegedly altering a document before it was provided to the SEC during an investigation has won dismissal of her case. “Wells Fargo clearly had much deeper and more ...
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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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Blog
Standard Chartered Beefs Up Efforts to Combat Financial Crime
London-based Standard Chartered today announced a trio of appointments as the banking giant continues to beef up its efforts to combat financial crime following multiple enforcement actions by U.S. enforcement authorities in 2012. One of those appointments includes a new head of sanctions compliance. Details inside.
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Article
University Compliance Programs Taking Shape
Image: Big compliance changes are afoot in higher education, as more universities hire their first enterprise-wide compliance officer—a trend that took flight in 2013 and keeps on going. “[A]cademic medical centers aside, a central compliance function is a newer concept than in the corporate world,” says Robert Roach, CCO of ...
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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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Blog
World Bank Procurement Framework Approved
The World Bank’s board of directors has approved a new policy governing the procurement of projects financed by the Bank. According to the World Bank, this “once-in-a-generation systematic reform and culture change” will allow it “to better respond to the needs of client countries, while preserving robust procurement standards throughout ...
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Blog
Fed to China Construction Bank: Fix AML Controls
The U.S. Federal Reserve and the New York Department of Financial Services in an enforcement action this week ordered China Construction Bank and its New York branch to significantly improve its compliance operations. The bank and the branch have 60 days to jointly submit a written enhanced compliance program in ...