Posts Tagged ‘Justice Department’
Some Vague Hints on Analytics, FCPA
The Justice Department is stepping up its own use of data analytics to identify instances of corporate misconduct, and will boost its cooperation with overseas law enforcement to bring more anti-corruption cases as well, a senior department official said this week. The remarks came from Nicole Argentieri, acting assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division,…
Read MoreThe Monaco Speech, Part II
Today let’s return to that speech that deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco delivered last week at the Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics annual conference. Monaco’s announcement of a new safe harbor policy for acquisitions got the headlines, but there was plenty else in her remarks that also deserves our attention. For starters, Monaco talked…
Read MoreJustice Dept. Cuts Compliance Break for M&A
The Justice Department is extending yet another olive branch to companies to encourage stronger compliance programs, saying it typically will not prosecute companies that self-disclose issues at acquisition targets if the company makes that disclosure within six months of closing the deal. So said deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco on Wednesday, speaking at the Society…
Read MoreCyber Failure Leads to False Claims Penalty
We have a fascinating enforcement action from the Justice Department this week, where a subsidiary of Verizon has agreed to settle charges that its failure to meet certain cybersecurity standards as part of a government contract qualified as a violation of the False Claims Act. Verizon Business Network Services, an IT services subsidiary within the…
Read MoreImportant Case on Investigations
An important update from the world of internal investigations: a federal judge has ruled against two former executives of Cognizant Technologies, who had been arguing that Cognizant had acted as a de facto arm of the government when the company investigated the two about their role in a corruption scheme. The ruling came down from…
Read MoreMusings on Messaging Apps
Compliance officers have a lot to ponder in the Justice Department’s recent updates to its guidance for corporate compliance programs. The most demanding issue, however, might be how the department wants companies to handle employees’ use of messaging apps. It’s going to be quite the challenge. Clearly messaging apps are a priority for the Justice…
Read MoreMore on ‘Extraordinary’ Cooperation
Still wondering what the Justice Department means when it says it wants “immediate” self-disclosure of corporate misconduct and “extraordinary” cooperation and remediation for severe FCPA cases? Good news: we now have a bit more understanding of those terms, straight from the Justice Department official who coined them. Assistant attorney general Kenneth Polite, who has been…
Read MoreThe Latest FCPA Declination
We have yet another example of the Justice Department trying to put its new corporate misconduct policies into practice, allowing a Pennsylvania coal company to pay only $1.2 million to settle FCPA charges thanks to the company’s voluntary self-disclosure and other cooperative actions. The company in question is Corsa Coal Corp., a company that does…
Read MoreCompensation & Misconduct: Two Examples
Everyone is buzzing these days about the Justice Department’s new ambitions to include executive compensation plans and disciplinary policies as part of effective corporate compliance programs, so today let’s review two recent enforcement actions that department officials have cited as examples: Danske Bank and Safran. Both cases were resolved in December. Danske Bank pleaded guilty…
Read MoreDeep Dive Into DOJ Compliance Guidance
Last week the Justice Department released new guidance on effective corporate compliance programs, to incorporate the department’s new stance on compensation clawbacks and disciplinary procedures that it wants companies to embrace. Let’s take a close read of those changes to see what’s going on. The updated guidance comes after numerous speeches by Justice Department officials…
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