Posts Tagged ‘enforcement’
Justice Dept. Trainwreck Continues
Another day, another crazy idea from the Trump Administration that could put corporate enforcement practices through the metaphorical blender. This time around: apparently there’s a power struggle within the Justice Department that could end up dismantling the Fraud Section as corporate compliance professionals know it. According to an article published in Bloomberg, the White House…
Read MoreMaking Enforcement & Accountability Work
Last week I moderated a webinar on the Justice Department’s new corporate enforcement policy. It gave us an excellent opportunity to unpack the overlapping issues facing compliance officers, from enforcing individual accountability to supporting a strong speakup culture to performing effective root cause analysis. I took lots of notes as usual, and pass them along…
Read MoreSDNY Unveils New Declination Policy
Federal prosecutors in New York have released their new policies for prosecuting corporate misconduct, with promises of no monetary penalties, no monitors, and pretty much no prosecution at all for most corporations; and with big shifts in what prosecutors define as “aggravating circumstances” that do or don’t leave you eligible for a declination in the…
Read MoreMore Muddled Messages From DOJ
An update on anti-corruption enforcement in the United States: one week after the deputy attorney general lectured compliance officers that no, really, the Trump 2.0 Administration is serious about enforcement and not just targeting foreign business rivals, prosecutors have dropped two corruption cases related to FIFA while preparing to hammer Chinese telecom giant ZTE Corp.…
Read MoreJustice Dept. Promises More Declinations
The Justice Department has announced new, more relaxed policies for when it will prosecute corporate crime, promising “a clear path to declination” that bypasses the criminal resolution process entirely for companies that self-disclose and remediate their misconduct. Matthew Galeotti, acting head of the Criminal Division at the Justice Department, announced the new policy in a…
Read MoreIs Regulation By Enforcement Coming Next?
Here’s a hypothetical: What if the Supreme Court’s recent curbs on regulatory power turn out to be a mess for Corporate America? What if those limits lead to more regulation by enforcement? What would the implications be for corporate compliance programs and legal teams? Those questions are on my mind today thanks to an intriguing…
Read MoreNew Sweeteners for Disclosure, Cooperation
The U.S. Justice Department is amending its Corporate Enforcement Policy, offering more incentives for companies to self-disclose misconduct even if their cases involve aggravating factors that might tempt those companies to keep quiet. Companies in that predicament might still be able to secure a declination to prosecute from the Justice Department if they (1) self-disclose…
Read MoreDOJ Pushes Enforcement Reforms
Here we go, compliance officers! The Justice Department has unveiled a sweeping new set of practices for enforcement against corporate misconduct, with an emphasis on taking a stern approach to repeat offenders and giving more rewards to companies that truly embrace a culture of compliance. Deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco announced the enforcement shifts in…
Read MoreCarnival, Princess Cruises Busted Again
Here we go again: Princess Cruise Lines has pleaded guilty to a second violation of a probation deal imposed by the Justice Department in 2017 for environmental crimes, will pay another $1 million in criminal penalties, and undertake even more remedial measures to strengthen its compliance program. If all this sounds familiar, that’s because Princess…
Read MorePenalties, Monitors, and More
Last week the head of enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission made notable remarks about more aggressive use of monetary penalties in SEC enforcement actions. A friend of mine then asked an excellent question: Could more aggressive use of penalties also affect how companies deal with the Justice Department? For lots of compliance officers,…
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