Archive

United Nations to Increase Whistleblower Protections

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team As reported in UN News Centre, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres approved an updated United Nations whistleblower policy designed to better protect whistleblowers who report misconduct or cooperate with official audits or investigations. According to UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, the major changes include:

• The Ethics Office and Office of Internal...

Top-5 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Settlements for 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Here is our look-back at the top-5 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) settlements for 2016. 5. Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC -- The New York-based alternative investment and hedge fund manager, and its wholly-owned subsidiary OZ Africa Management GP LLC, agreed to pay a criminal penalty of more than $213 million to settle charges of violating the Foreign Corrupt...

South Korean President One-Ups Trump with Creepy Shadow Puppet-Master

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team South Korea’s president, Park Geun-hye, whose approval rating has fallen to a historically-low five percent, has been named a suspect in a criminal fraud investigation. The scandal, which has caused the resignation of ten senior aides to President Park, centers on the president’s childhood friend, Choi Soon-sil. Soon-sil is the daughter of a man the president has...

In Their Own Words -- Ceresney

--  “This has been a strong year for the Enforcement Division, with groundbreaking insider trading and FCPA [Foreign Corrupt Practices Act] cases and other important actions across the full spectrum of the securities laws.”

Andrew J. Ceresney, Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, commenting on the agency’s enforcement activities over the past year.

Calling All FCPA Whistleblowers—The SEC Wants You

By Sarah Poppy Alexander The SEC is signaling loud and clear that it is eager to receive whistleblower information about FCPA violations. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) prohibits companies with ties to the U.S. from bribing foreign officials to gain business favor or advantage overseas.  Those caught doing so risk stiff civil and criminal penalties, often in the eight- and nine-figure range.  Because...

New South Korean Anti-Corruption Law Spawns the $25.99 Dinner

By Max Voldman A new South Korean anti-corruption law went into effect this week.  The Improper Solicitation and Graft Act will limit the ability of about four million public servants, journalists and teachers to receive gifts. The implementation of this law follows four years of Parliamentary debate and several suits challenging it in the courts. Specifically, the law provides that certain government-employed...

In Their Own Words — Vitaly Stepanov

 -- "IF YOU ARE DOPING IN A SYSTEM THAT IS SIMILAR TO RUSSIA, CONTINUE DOING SO BECAUSE THERE IS NO REASON TO FIGHT IT BECAUSE IN THE END THE IOC WILL SAY THEY WILL NOT PUNISH THE SYSTEM, BUT WE WILL PUNISH THE WHISTLEBLOWER."

Vitaly Stepanov, who with his wife Yulia exposed the Russian Olympic doping scandal, on the International Olympic Committee's dual-refusal to allow Yulia to run in the Rio games as an...

The UK’s new whistleblowing regime going live: UK financial institutions required to appoint a “whistleblowers’ champion”

By Yulia Tosheva On 7 March 2016, the new rule requiring UK deposit-takers (banks, building societies and credit unions), PRA-designated investment firms and insurers to appoint a senior manager as their whistleblowing champion came into force. The whistleblowers’ champion will be responsible for ensuring the integrity, independence and effectiveness of the firm’s policies and procedures on whistleblowing. A...

DOJ Catch of the Week -- Olympus Corp.

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This week's Department of Justice "Catch of the Week" goes to Olympus Corp. of America, the country's largest distributor of endoscopes and related equipment.  On Tuesday, the company agreed to pay $623.2 million to resolve criminal charges and civil claims for the company's violations of the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute through a scheme to pay kickbacks to...

DOJ Catch Of The Week -- VimpelCom

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This week's Department of Justice "Catch of the Week" goes to Amsterdam-based telecommunications company VimpelCom Limited.  Yesterday, the company and its wholly owned Uzbek subsidiary, Unitel LLC, agreed to pay roughly $795 million under settlements with the DOJ, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Prosecution Service of the Netherlands (Openbaar...