Compliance

The district court granted Symantec’s motion to strike the expert designation and testimony of a government witness in a case alleging the company failed...

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, and Department of Justice have executed a memorandum of understanding that will allow the agencies to coordinate and consult with each other regarding overall priorities and certain enforcement and compliance efforts. The EEOC voted 3-2 to enter into the agreement, with […]

Hannes Lubitzsch writes about the Russian general prosecutor’s year-end statistics for corporate bribery enforcement in 2018, which are apparently aimed at demonstrating the country’s tough stance on fighting corruption. The statistics boast of 487 bribery investigations, 439 convicted entities, penalties of over $10 million, and the addition of 300 entities to the offender registry, which […]

Recent developments in the U.S., UK, and Germany have cast a spotlight on the interplay between corporate internal investigation interviews and investigations by, and cooperation with, the authorities. Interviewing company employees is often a key part of an internal investigation. Despite most employees having little choice but to agree to give internal interviews, they are […]

The government alleges that KPMG audit professionals and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board employees shared confidential audit inspection information with KPMG in order for KPMG to game PCAOB’s inspection system. One former PCAOB employee who later obtained employment with KPMG has already pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme, and five others are under […]

Mike Koehler notes with skepticism that despite the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act’s goal to eliminate corporate bribery, more than four decades later there is more – not less – FCPA enforcement activity, and seemingly more – not less – exposure to corruption in the global marketplace. Furthermore, he argues that survey results from the 2019 […]

Mike Koehler remarks that the FCPA itself doesn’t provide clear answers about compliance, particularly regarding the internal controls provisions. Rather than being rule-based, standards are often highly subjective, such as “reasonable assurances” that would “would satisfy prudent officials.” Koehler offers a list of questions that compliance professionals often ask, each of which “was formed using […]

The federal False Claims Act – and its similar state law counterpart, the California False Claims Act – both provide for the possible recovery...

French authorities have investigated the fire that severely damaged Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, and identified a number of key factors in the progress of the fire. Jonathan J. Rusch observes that several of these are analogous to issues that compliance officers in any enterprise must pay attention to: Management insistence on maintaining high-risk condition Ineffective […]

Philip McHugh, a co-owner of Physicians Choice Laboratory Services, a defunct South Carolina diagnostic testing laboratory, has agreed to pay over $2 million to resolve allegations that he submitted millions of dollars in false claims for reimbursement to the Medicare program, violating the FCA and the Anti-Kickback Statute. He and other agents of PCLS allegedly […]