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Top Ten FCPA Recoveries of 2020

Posted 01/27/21

2020 was a blockbuster year in the U.S. government’s battle against companies and individuals enmeshed in foreign bribery schemes. The list of 2020's largest settlements involving charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) includes many substantial recoveries. In 2020 the government recovered billions of dollars in settlement of claims under the FCPA, building on substantial recoveries just last...

Tagged in: FCPA, Financial and Investment Fraud, International Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Top 10,

Top Ten Healthcare Fraud Recoveries of 2020

Posted 01/5/21

Consistent with the trend in prior years, the bulk of the Justice Department’s fraud and false claims recoveries in 2019 stemmed from healthcare fraud matters, and with the Biden administration eyeing a bigger role for the federal government in our healthcare system, this trend is likely to accelerate. Most of the funds recovered arose from cases originated by whistleblowers under the qui tam provisions of the False...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Electronic Health Records, FCA Federal, FCPA, Government Programs Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Home Health and Hospice, Medicaid, Medicare, Pharma Fraud, Provider Fraud, Top 10,

Catch of the Week: Vitol to Pay $163 Million to Settle Criminal and Civil Charges Related to Oil Bidding in Brazil, Mexico, and Ecuador

Posted 12/11/20

Screenshot of CFTC Whistleblower Program web page

This week’s Catch of the Week highlights the participation of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the settlement of an international bribery and kickback scandal involving Vitol Inc., a member of the Vitol Group, the world’s largest privately owned oil and gas trading firm. As part of the settlement, Vitol will pay $90 million in fines to the DOJ, $45 million to Brazilian authorities, and at least...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, FCPA, Financial and Investment Fraud,

In an Effort to Curb Corruption, U.S. and Brazil Update Trade Agreement by Strengthening Whistleblower Protections

Posted 11/5/20

On October 19, 2020, the U.S. and Brazil signed a Protocol on trade rules and transparency, updating their 2011 Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation (ATEC). The Protocol includes three annexes – one of which comprises cutting-edge provisions that are at the very forefront of recent developments in the area of whistleblower protection. Article 3 of Annex III provides specific obligations in line with both...

Tagged in: Anonymity, FCPA, Importance of Whistleblowers, International Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud,

Catch of the Week: Goldman Sachs Agrees to Pay Over $2.9 Billion in Foreign Bribery Case

Posted 10/23/20

businessmen shaking hands and other placing money in others pocket

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and its Malaysian subsidiary have admitted to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by engaging in a scheme to pay more than $1.6 billion in bribes to foreign officials in exchange for lucrative contracts. According to Goldman’s admissions and court documents, Goldman paid these bribes to foreign officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi in order to obtain and retain...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, FCPA, Financial and Investment Fraud, Foreign Exchange, Money Laundering,

SEC Again Postpones Hearing on Controversial Whistleblower Award Rule Amendments

Posted 09/11/20

For the second time, the SEC pulled the plug on hearings to consider amendments to some key rules affecting its whistleblower reward program. Just a day before hearings scheduled for September 2, 2020, the SEC canceled them, indicating only that they would be rescheduled for a future date. The Commission had done the same thing in fall 2019, abandoning hearings at the last minute. There are many potential...

Tagged in: FCPA, Financial and Investment Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Securities Fraud, Whistleblower Rewards,

The FCPA’s Accounting Provisions Get a Fresh Look from the SEC

Posted 08/13/20

In the New York Law Journal this week, we published an article discussing a heartening trend in the SEC’s enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law that has yielded some of the largest SEC fines and recoveries: an increased willingness to ground enforcement actions in the accounting provisions of the FCPA. The FCPA broadly prohibits two different kinds of conduct. First, businesses may not bribe...

Tagged in: FCPA, Importance of Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Whistleblower Eligibility, Whistleblower Protection Laws, Whistleblower Rewards,

CFTC Whistleblower Hot Streak Continues with $9 Million Award

Posted 07/28/20

a silver whistle on top of a stack of cash

This week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced a new whistleblower award of approximately $9 million, one of the five largest awards ever paid by the agency. It is the latest in a wave of awards—four over the last three months, all over $1 million—demonstrating the CFTC’s strong commitment to its whistleblowers. These awards make good on CFTC Enforcement Director James McDonald’s...

Tagged in: CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, FCPA, Importance of Whistleblowers, Whistleblower Protection Laws, Whistleblower Rewards,

Catch of the Week: Novartis Pays $729 Million to Settle Two Kickback Cases on Heels of $345 Million Foreign Bribery Settlement

Posted 07/2/20

This week and last, pharmaceutical manufacturer Novartis reached three settlements involving very different forms of unlawful kickbacks and bribes. First, this week the company agreed to pay a total of $678 million to resolve a New York case alleging that it paid inflated “speaking fees” and provided other incentives to doctors to induce them to prescribe Novartis drugs. Second, Novartis will pay $51.25...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, FCPA, Financial and Investment Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Case,

In Norway, the Cozy World of Finance Collides with the Public Interest

Posted 04/22/20

Norway is often held up as the exception to the so-called “resource curse”—a successful, well-managed country that has managed to escape the corruption and inequality so often rife in other oil-rich nations. An emerging scandal involving the $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, a Sting concert, and a private jet known as the “Crystal Skye” is now threatening that reputation. Last September, Yngve...

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, FCPA,

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Top Ten FCPA Recoveries of 2020

Top Ten Healthcare Fraud Recoveries of 2020

Catch of the Week: Vitol to Pay $163 Million to Settle Criminal and Civil Charges Related to Oil Bidding in Brazil, Mexico, and Ecuador

In an Effort to Curb Corruption, U.S. and Brazil Update Trade Agreement by Strengthening Whistleblower Protections

Catch of the Week: Goldman Sachs Agrees to Pay Over $2.9 Billion in Foreign Bribery Case

SEC Again Postpones Hearing on Controversial Whistleblower Award Rule Amendments

The FCPA’s Accounting Provisions Get a Fresh Look from the SEC

CFTC Whistleblower Hot Streak Continues with $9 Million Award

Catch of the Week: Novartis Pays $729 Million to Settle Two Kickback Cases on Heels of $345 Million Foreign Bribery Settlement

In Norway, the Cozy World of Finance Collides with the Public Interest

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