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    Sep. 9, 2026

ACR Webinar: Rethinking Your Internal Investigations Playbook to Account for Emerging Areas of Risk

Evolving enforcement priorities in the second Donald Trump presidential administration have drastically altered the risk landscape for almost every company with ties to the U.S., prompting legal and compliance leaders to reassess how investigations are initiated, managed and resolved. Please join the Anti-Corruption Report, in partnership with the American Conference Institute, on Friday, September 18, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EDT for a complimentary webinar that will provide a timely discussion on how organizations can rethink their investigations framework in light of the evolving enforcement landscape. The webinar, moderated by Anti-Corruption Report Editor Megan Zwiebel, will feature insights from Jon Robell, director and chief investigations counsel at Lockheed Martin; Glenn Leon, a former chief of the Fraud Section at the DOJ and current partner at Jenner & Black; and Richard Scott, associate GC for investigations, anti-corruption and compliance at HP. To register, please click here.

Scoular DPA: A Customs Broker Enables Health and Safety Violations

Customs brokers have long posed FCPA risk for companies. The DOJ’s July 2026 settlement with the Scoular Company (Scoular) highlights why they deserve fresh scrutiny as the second Donald Trump presidential administration (Trump 2.0) sharpens its focus on trade controls and prosecutors leverage cooperating witnesses. This second article in a multi-part series examining Scoular’s settlement investigates how the company found itself in trouble through its dealings with a shady customs broker and offers compliance lessons on how companies should adapt their third-party risk management systems as a result. Part one highlighted the role that transnational criminal organizations played in the settlement. The final installment will examine how Scoular was able to earn credit under the DOJ’s unified corporate enforcement policy for its cooperation and remediation efforts. See “A Primer on Trade Controls for Compliance Professionals: The Enforcement Landscape” (Aug. 12, 2026).

July 2026 AFA Sanctions Committee Decision Marks a Turning Point in French Anti-Corruption Enforcement

The Sanctions Committee of the Agence Française Anticorruption (AFA) has issued a decision marking a decisive inflection point for companies in the enforcement of the French anti-corruption framework. For the first time since its establishment, the Sanctions Committee imposed direct financial penalties on a company and its chairman for failing to comply with their obligations regarding the implementation of an anti-corruption compliance program. In this guest article, Proskauer partner Bryan Sillaman and associate Mélinée Aprikian discuss how this decision underscores that compliance requirements cannot be approached as a mere tick-the-box exercise and how it appears to signal a departure from the gradual, remediation-focused approach that characterized the AFA’s early enforcement decisions, with the emphasis now shifting toward effective implementation of a compliance program at the time of the audit. For more from Proskauer, see “The Changing Landscape of the French ‘Secret Professionnel’” (Apr. 8, 2026).

A Strategic Roadmap for Preparing for the E.U. Anti-Corruption Directive

In April 2026, the European Council gave the final sign-off to a new directive (Directive) that will harmonize anti-corruption laws among the E.U.’s member countries. The adoption of the Directive marks a significant step toward strengthening corporate accountability and companies’ ethical governance. In this guest article, Roberto Cursano, a partner at Studio Legale Delfino e Associati Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP based in Rome, explains how companies can begin preparing for transposition of the Directive to be better positioned to manage legal exposure, satisfy regulatory expectations and maintain stakeholder trust before laws come into effect. See “What to Know About the E.U. Anti-Corruption Directive” (Jun. 3, 2026).

SEC Charges Attorneys From Major Law Firms and Others in Insider Trading Scheme

In May 2026, the SEC announced securities fraud charges against 21 individuals in a wide-ranging insider trading scheme that spanned at least eight years. At the heart of the scheme are two lawyers, including one who allegedly misappropriated material nonpublic information (MNPI) about pending acquisitions from two top-tier law firms where he worked. They allegedly disseminated the MNPI through a web of familial, personal and professional relationships to individuals who traded on the information and then paid them and other defendants kickbacks from their illicit profits. The case illustrates the insider trading risks associated with M&A activity. This article details the SEC’s allegations, as well as related DOJ charges. See “Managing Prediction Market Insider Trading Risks” (Jul. 15, 2026).

Using AI Tools in Compliance Training

Some AI tools are helpful in compliance training, but others disappoint, making it difficult to know which to choose. At a July 2026 Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics panel, experts discussed the changing nature of effective compliance training and explained how to use AI to increase engagement while avoiding common pitfalls associated with implementing those tools. This article summarizes their insights. See “The Data Analytics and AI Transition in Compliance” (May 6, 2026).

DLA Piper Adds Two Partners to Global Investigations Practice

DLA Piper has welcomed Eric Bruce and Justin Simeone as partners in its white collar, investigations and government enforcement practice in Washington, D.C. Their arrival enhances the firm’s ability to advise multinational companies on complex cross-border regulatory, enforcement and litigation matters. For insights from DLA Piper, see our two-part series on the AI laws in Colorado and Connecticut: “Mapping Scope and Core Provisions” (Jul. 1, 2026), and “Preparing to Comply” (Jul. 15, 2026).

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