• |

    Aug. 28, 2024

Obligations Linger Despite Freepoint’s Settlements With DOJ and CFTC

More than six months ago, Stamford, Connecticut-based commodities trading company Freepoint Commodities LLC (Freepoint) settled a charge of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA with the DOJ, and misappropriation-based fraud charges with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. These charges stemmed from a scheme to pay bribes to Brazilian government officials to obtain business from Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras, Brazil’s state-owned and state-controlled oil company. The matter has not quite been put to rest given the upcoming trial of an individual associated with the scheme and the company’s obligation to cooperate in ongoing investigations. The Anti-Corruption Report spoke with experts in the field for insight into Freepoint’s ongoing obligations and how other companies can best navigate post-settlement life. See “Gunvor Pays Over $661M for Bribes to Petroecuador” (Apr. 10, 2024).

Navigating U.S. Privacy Laws in Internal Investigations

In just the past several years, data privacy laws in the U.S. have changed drastically, introducing new complications for companies performing internal investigations. Before investigating, a company needs to have proper policies and procedures in place to prevent headaches down the line. The Anti-Corruption Report spoke with Littler partner and data privacy expert Philip Gordon about the U.S. laws companies must navigate when pursuing internal investigations, as well as practical measures for complying with them. See “Measures for Complying With 19 (and Counting) State Privacy Laws” (Jul. 17, 2024).

Takeaways From the CFTC’s First Whistleblower Interference Case

For more than a decade, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has been receiving tips from whistleblowers and awarding some of them millions and millions of dollars, but it only recently pursued its first whistleblower interference case. A June 17, 2024, order accuses global commodities firm Trafigura PTE, Ltd. – which settled bribery and corruption-related allegations with the DOJ in March 2024 – of engaging in insider trading, market manipulation and impeding possible whistleblower communications between its employees and government agencies through nondisclosure provisions in its employee agreements. This article summarizes the matter and the terms of the settlement. See “Trafigura Settlement Forms Part of DOJ’s Years-Long Oil Scheme Probe” (Apr. 24, 2024).

U.K.’s Upcoming Sanctions Enforcer Means Higher Likelihood of Investigation

In December 2023, the U.K. government announced the creation of a new office focused on enforcing trade sanctions. Companies with a U.K. nexus will face higher risk of civil and criminal proceedings over sanctions compliance when the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI) launches later in 2024. During a seminar on OTSI’s future role and significance, organized by the Practising Law Institute, experts in the field discussed what companies can expect when OTSI launches. This article distills some of the issues they highlighted from a business and compliance perspective. See “Five Ways to Use Existing Resources to Meet Sanctions and Export Control Compliance Needs” (Apr. 10, 2024).

SolarWinds Decision: Court Narrows Case, but SEC’s Surviving Claims Alarm CISOs

A New York federal court has dismissed significant portions of the SEC’s securities fraud charges against SolarWinds and its chief information security officer (CISO) for making allegedly misleading public statements and disclosures before, during and after a highly publicized 2020 cyberattack. The SEC lost on all its claims related to the company’s regulatory filings, but the decision sustains charges that a SolarWinds website statement about security “was materially false and misleading in numerous respects,” and CISO Timothy Brown still faces liability. This article, the first in a two-part series about the standout case, provides perspective on the SEC’s wins and losses, and examines the multiple implications that worry CISOs. Part two will present several lessons for companies as a new era of heightened scrutiny of cybersecurity-related corporate communications arrives. See “Navigating SEC Cybersecurity Enforcement in a Post-SolarWinds World” (Jan. 3, 2024).

Data Expert Joins FTI Consulting in Dallas

FTI Consulting has welcomed Shelly Mady as a senior managing director in the data & analytics practice within the firm’s forensic and litigation consulting segment in Dallas. She arrives from Ankura, where she held a similar role. For insights from FTI Consulting, see “As the U.K. Bribery Act Turns Seven, Experts Take Its Pulse” (Jul. 25, 2018).

Most-Read Articles

Spotlight on Trailblazing Women

To mark International Women’s Day 2024, women editors and reporters of ION Analytics interviewed outstanding women in the industries and jurisdictions we cover. In this part, Jill Abitbol, Managing Editor of the Cybersecurity Law Report and Anti-Corruption Report, features notable women in data privacy, cybersecurity, white collar defense, compliance and anti-corruption law, including Christina Montgomery, Leslie Shanklin, Palmina Fava, Alexandra Ross and Lucinda Low. Enjoy reading their inspiring remarks here.