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    Sep. 14, 2022

Calculating Restitution: What Corporate Defendants Can Learn From Credit Suisse Securities’ Settlement Negotiations

DOJ officials say they are aiming to do a better job in fulfilling the agency’s obligations to consider the interests of victims of white-collar crimes – and that they expect companies to do the same. We take a look at the restitution climate, the seminal Och-Ziff case, the recent order in the Credit Suisse case, and discuss lessons and challenges for corporate defendants. See “Restitution in FCPA Cases: Who Is a Victim of Foreign Corruption?” (Sep. 29, 2021).

Robinhood Resolution a First for Cryptocurrency Enforcement in NY

Compliance officers looking for helpful “ripped-from-the-headlines” enforcement actions to support their requests for more and better resources, direct access to the board, and technology investments in their programs need look no further than the recent $30‑million fine from the New York Department of Financial Services on the cryptocurrency trading unit of online brokerage firm Robinhood Markets, Inc. for alleged violations of anti-money-laundering and cybersecurity regulations. The consent order in the department’s first crypto enforcement action describes deficiencies in the compliance culture, violations of a host of virtual currency, AML/BSA, financial services, and cybersecurity regulations, and a failure to comply with a previous order. The order also highlights Robinhood’s hyper-fast growth and reliance on the parent company’s (also inadequate) compliance systems and resources as potential factors in their failures. The concerning alleged conduct also included inaccurate compliance certifications and a failure to cooperate. See “The Evolving Crypto Regulatory Climate” (May 11, 2022).

10 Compliance Best Practices for Business Operations in the Northern Triangle

The Biden administration has taken key steps to increase focus on corruption in the Northern Triangle - the President declared the fight against corruption to be a core national security interest in June 2021, and days later, Attorney General Garland announced a task force to enhance U.S. enforcement efforts against the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. In this guest article, Lowenstein Sandler attorneys Robert A. Johnston, Jr. and Rachel Maimin examine the local corruption climate in the countries of the Northern Triangle and provide 10 tips to mitigate the corruption risks of operating there. See “All Eyes on the Northern Triangle: A Call to Action for Companies Operating in the Region” (Nov. 10, 2021).

Employee Data Under the CPRA: Rights Requests, Privacy Policies and Enforcement

California’s Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act of 2020 (CPRA), which takes effect January 1, 2023, eliminates some of the exceptions that the CCPA originally put in place, notably those affecting employee data. This second part of our coverage of a recent Morrison Foerster presentation featuring attorneys Kristen Mathews and Suhna N. Pierce covers practical issues around rights requests from employees, such as when they arise in a pre-litigation context; drafting compliant privacy policies; and the enforcement climate. The first part of this two-part article series covered the panelists’ insights on six key employee rights under the CPRA and preparing to respond to an exercise of rights. See “$41.7M GDPR Fine in German H&M Case Underscores Importance of Employee Data Handling” (Oct. 28, 2020).

Sanctions 101: How to Comply With Them (Part Three of Three)

OFAC and FinCEN’s recent alerts advising financial institutions to be vigilant about potential Russian sanctions evasion should prompt many to review their companies’ sanctions compliance policies and procedures now to ensure they are up to snuff. This final article in a three-part series explores what fund managers should do to ensure they comply with sanctions and have sufficient protections in their fund documents. The first article explained how sanctions regimes work, and the second article discussed how sanctions can impact a private fund manager’s investors and investments. See “Navigating an Aggressive AML and Sanctions Enforcement Environment: Risks and Frameworks” (Jan. 20, 2021).

BakerHostetler Expands Litigation Practice Group in Houston

Partner Lisa Houssiere concentrates her practice on international disputes and investigations, with an emphasis on energy industry matters. She has represented clients in complex commercial litigation cases in both state and federal courts, as well as international arbitrations. For insight from BakerHostetler, see “Implications of DOJ’s Pursuit of the Crypto-Laundering Couple” (Mar. 16, 2022).

Most-Read Articles

Corporate Compliance and Enforcement Hot Topics With IBM VP Una Dean

Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Hughes Parker recently spoke with IBM's vice president and assistant general counsel of investigations Una Dean, who will be co-chairing ACI's FCPA conference this fall, about a range of hot compliance topics. 

The video is here

Quick Take on FARA

https://acuris.wistia.com/medias/wmb5vyeq2f

Global Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Hughes Parker discusses the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in this short video. For our three-part guide to FARA and the new risk environment, see here.

ACR Editor Discusses Using Artificial Intelligence to Support Anti-Corruption Compliance

Senior Editor Megan Zwiebel recently appeared on a podcast with Perkins Coie White Collar & Investigations partners Gina LaMonica and Caryn Trombino, who discussed the use of AI in compliance programs, including trends in AI-based compliance, steps companies can take to utilize AI in their compliance programs, and how regulators view the use of data and AI in compliance programs. Listen to the podcast here.