All articles by Tom Fox – Page 29
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Bristol-Myers Squibb Dodges Criminal FCPA Enforcement
Image: Last week Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that the Justice Department has decided to prosecute the company for a criminal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. When you look at the facts of the misconduct, a declination seems a bit far-fetched, but our Man From FCPA, Tom Fox, takes a closer look at ...
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The UN, Corruption, and Internal Investigations
Image: Another corrupt scandal hit the United Nations recently. The claim was made that a former General Assembly president had engaged in receiving bribes and other corruption from a Chinese businessman (and perhaps others). Other than yet another embarrassment for the United Nations, the allegations are nothing unusual so far. ...
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Compliance and the Zeitgeist in Germany
I have always been fascinated with the zeitgeist. In the world of anti-bribery and anti-corruption compliance, one rarely has the chance to observe the zeitgeist in action. However I think we are now seeing it play out in Germany in a public way. It all involves the Made in Germany ...
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The Schrems Decision and Compliance
Image: While the recent Schrems decision has seen a signifcant focus on the lack of U.S. data privacy protection from government or company intrusion, CW’s FCPA blogger Tom Fox says the decision also raises issues with hotlines and internal investigations. With these two key components of any best practices ...
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Chinese Open New Front in Anti-Corruption Investigations
The Chinese fight against bribery and corruption took an interesting twist earlier this month, when it was announced that the former head of the national oil company, Sinopec, was being investigated for bribery and corruption in the securing of contracts in Angola. If this investigation continues it could open a ...
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FIFA Misconduct Strikes Again, at German Prestige
Image: The German magazine Der Spiegel is reporting that the committee set up by the German Soccer Federation to bid for the 2006 World Cup hosting rights ran a slush fund of more than 10 million Swiss francs ($11 million) to help secure those hosting rights. Given all that has ...
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Sticky Situation: Ill-Gotten Gains From FCPA Violations
Image: One of the continuing myths around FCPA enforcement is so-called “springing liability,” where a company that acquires a business also acquires a FCPA violation along with the purchase. That is not an accurate understanding of the issue, our anti-corruption blogger Tom Fox writes. But it does touch on issues ...
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Cost of Corruption: Now the Short-Sellers Are Here
The costs of corruption come in many forms, not the least being painfully high penalties from regulators and lawsuits from unhappy shareholders. Now a new front has opened: Muddy Waters, a short-seller firm pressuring Swedish telecom company TeliaSonera, is accusing it of bribery in central Asia—and benefitting as the stock ...
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Surviving the Jolt of the Yates Memo
An earthquake in the world of FCPA enforcement happened in September, when “the Yates Memo” arrived and heralded a new era of pursuing individuals responsible for corporate misconduct. This week, columnist Tom Fox dissects some of the implications for compliance officers—including the threat that from here forward, the interests of ...
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How Will Schrems Ruling Affect FCPA Compliance in Europe?
Image: The Schrems decision last week invalidated the safe harbor provision that let U.S. companies ferry personal data back and forth from Europe. Already compliance officers are beginning to sweat the implications of that ruling for anti-corruption programs. First likely headache: hotline data. Tom Fox, our Man From FCPA, has ...
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Is FIFA Getting Serious About Ethics Reform?
FIFA seems to be getting serious about the perception that its organization is rife with corruption. Last week it suspended three of its top officials, including President Sepp Blatter. Those suspensions come one week after major sponsors demanded FIFA take action. Our Man From FCPA, Tom Fox, has more inside.
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Double Trouble in Internal Investigations After Schrems
Image: Last week another huge shift in the compliance world happened: the Schrems decision by the European Court of Justice, finding that the previously presumed European Union Safe Harbor regime is invalid. For the anti-corruption compliance practitioner, the decision is double-trouble when you consider it in light of the recent ...
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Update on the Petrobras Corruption Scandal
This week one commentator reported that the Netherlands-based SBM Offshore would pay $255 million in fines and penalties for its role in the Petrobras scandal. If SBM Offshore does settle with Brazilian authorities for this amount, it will be a first step in resolving the morass businesses sucked into that ...
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Sponsors Turn Up the Heat on FIFA Corruption
Image: Four of FIFA’s largest sponsors have called on the group’s president, Sepp Blatter, to resign immediately given his role in possible misconduct at the soccer organization. (Blatter is now under criminal investigation by Swiss prosecutors.) That business-driven pressure, Compliance Week blogger Tom Fox (left) says, might be the first ...
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New U.S.-China Corruption Cooperation Initiative
Image: An interesting development reported this week: The United States and China have agreed to cooperate on the seizure of assets obtained through corruption and on the deportations of Chinese nationals from the United States who engaged in bribery and corruption in China and later fled to America for sanctuary. ...
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Moves Against FIFA, VW: Sweating in the C-Suite?
Image: Talk in corporate compliance circles lately has been dominated by the United States and publication of the Yates Memo, where the Justice Department will be pushing for more prosecution of individuals. The real bite for compliance, however, might be happening in Europe, where regulators are moving against the chiefs ...
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This Phrase Is a Key Corruption Indicator
Image: Title: FoxCorporate scandals come in many forms, and can violate any number of federal statutes. For compliance officers, however, some key phrases—such as one that has turned up in scandals including Volkswagen and Hewlett-Packard—are the words that should guide your program. When employees utter them, they need to know ...
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FIFA Corruption Scandal: A Business Solution Coming?
Image: The fallout from the FIFA corruption scandal continues across the globe (literally), with FIFA audit committee members suspended and investigations expanded. As the next wave of soccer tournaments reaches the planning stages, however, we might be starting to see FIFA taking business practices seriously. Our Man From FCPA, Tom ...
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Compliance and Ethics Sputters at Volkswagen
Image: This week, anti-corruption blogger Tom Fox takes a closer look at the scandal involving Volkswagen and its diesel engine cars, intentionally designed to cheat emission standard testing through software nicknamed “defeat devices.” The world’s biggest carmaker admitted to U.S. watchdogs that it deliberately rigged computers in its cars ...
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Yates Memo: More Change Coming in FCPA Enforcement
Two weeks ago, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement took a formal turn when the Justice Department released the Yates Memo, which formalized the department’s new focus on prosecuting individuals under the FCPA. In the same week, there was a much less reported event that could have equally large effect on ...