Archive

Catch of the Week: Ericsson Agrees to Pay Record-Setting $1 Billion for FCPA Violations

Posted 12/12/19

This week’s “Catch of the Week” is a Swedish fish: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, the telecommunications giant based in Stockholm, agreed to pay over $1 billion in penalties, including $540 million to the SEC and $520 million to the DOJ, for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). This is one of the largest FCPA settlements in history. Ericsson’s corrupt conduct was pervasive and...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, FCPA, Financial and Investment Fraud,

EU, UK, and Canadian Whistleblowers Receive New or Enhanced Protections

Posted 12/5/19

Three recent international developments have occurred that will further enable and encourage whistleblowers to report alleged wrongdoing, and provide guidance for employers and organizations to respond to such complaints. The European Union formally adopted a whistleblower protection directive on September 25, 2019, requiring organizations with 50 or more workers to establish internal reporting channels over the...

Tagged in: Government Programs Fraud, International Whistleblowers, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Eligibility, Whistleblower Protection Laws,

Malta’s Ongoing Corruption Scandal Renews Focus on Money Laundering

Posted 12/5/19

The tragic murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 sparked international outrage—and the fear that nothing would be done to discover who was behind her death. This turns out not to be the case. After years of persistence from her family and journalist community, Yorgen Fenech, a gambling, real estate, and energy mogul, was arrested on November 20 for complicity in her murder. He has...

Tagged in: Abusive Tax Shelters, International Whistleblowers, Money Laundering,

CFTC Whistleblower Program Annual Report Shows Program Open for Business, yet Challenges Persist

Posted 11/15/19

Screenshot of CFTC Whistleblower Program web page

Fifteen million dollars is how much the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Whistleblower Program paid whistleblowers in FY 2019 according to the agency’s annual report to Congress. This amount includes:

$7 million to one individual whistleblower;
Over $2 million to a non-insider whistleblower who provided independent analysis of market data; and,
Close to $1.5 million to a...

Tagged in: CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, Financial and Investment Fraud, Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, International Whistleblowers, Statistics, Whistleblower Rewards,

Partner Mary Inman discusses the new EU Whistleblower Directive on SCCE’s Compliance Perspectives Podcast

Posted 11/8/19

Constantine Cannon partner Mary Inman, and Vigjilenca Abazi of Maastricht University, discuss the new European Union Whistleblower Directive with Adam Turteltaub in SCCE’s Compliance Perspectives podcast. Mary Inman explains the differences between U.S. whistleblower programs and the EU directive, as well as the opportunities presented to compliance personnel in light of new research on internal whistleblowing. ...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, International Whistleblowers,

How to Report Visa Fraud for a Whistleblower Reward

Posted 09/25/19

A settlement with India-based management consulting firm Mu Sigma shows how whistleblowers can make a difference in visa enforcement. In September, 2019, Mu Sigma agreed to pay the U.S. $2.5 million to settle claims that it evaded H-1B visa requirements and brought employees to the U.S. on B1 visitor visas, misrepresenting the nature of their intended employment. In announcing the settlement, Immigration and Customs...

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Financial and Investment Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, International Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud, Visa Fraud,

Deutsche Bank Pays More than $16M to Settle SEC Charges of FCPA Violations

Posted 08/30/19

Last week, the SEC announced that German-based banking giant Deutsche Bank agreed to pay more than $16 million to settle charges it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by hiring relatives of foreign officials in China and Russia to get investment banking business. See SEC Press Release. According to the SEC’s order, these so-called "referral hires" bypassed the bank's merit-based hiring process and...

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

Tech Whistleblowers Needed: Inquire Within

Posted 08/16/19

Facebook, Google, Samsung, Microsoft – we rely on large tech companies to safeguard our privacy and time and again they let us down. Yet tech companies are known to be highly selective employers, hiring the best and brightest and often paying better than companies in other industries. So how is it that they remain vulnerable to data breaches with such talent at their disposal? Cisco whistleblower James Glenn has...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, Contract Non-Compliance, Cybersecurity and Data Breaches, FCA Federal, FCA State, Government Procurement Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, International Whistleblowers,

Constantine Cannon Client’s Historic False Claims Act Settlement Against Cisco for Cybersecurity Fraud Makes Headlines

Posted 08/9/19

Numbers One and Zero for Coding with Word Hacked

If you’ve ever seen a heist movie, you likely know the scene. The technology-savvy member of a motley crew of criminals is huddled in a van or in a secret lair, surrounded by monitors. After a tense few minutes of maniacal typing, he or she yells “I’m in!” and hacks into the video surveillance system of the target hotel/casino/museum. In an instant, the cameras switch off or go to a pre-taped reel, and the...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, Contract Non-Compliance, Cybersecurity and Data Breaches, FCA Federal, FCA State, Government Procurement Fraud, International Whistleblowers, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

Cisco Whistleblower Represented by Constantine Cannon Wins First-Ever False Claims Act Settlement for Cybersecurity Fraud

Posted 07/31/19

In the first cybersecurity whistleblower case ever successfully litigated under the False Claims Act, Cisco Systems, Inc. has agreed to an $8.6 million settlement to resolve allegations it knowingly sold vulnerable video surveillance software to federal, state and local government agencies, exposing government systems to the risk of unauthorized access and the manipulation of vital information. This qui tam...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, Contract Non-Compliance, Cybersecurity and Data Breaches, FCA Federal, FCA State, Government Procurement Fraud, International Whistleblowers, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

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Catch of the Week: Ericsson Agrees to Pay Record-Setting $1 Billion for FCPA Violations

EU, UK, and Canadian Whistleblowers Receive New or Enhanced Protections

Malta’s Ongoing Corruption Scandal Renews Focus on Money Laundering

CFTC Whistleblower Program Annual Report Shows Program Open for Business, yet Challenges Persist

Partner Mary Inman discusses the new EU Whistleblower Directive on SCCE’s Compliance Perspectives Podcast

How to Report Visa Fraud for a Whistleblower Reward

Deutsche Bank Pays More than $16M to Settle SEC Charges of FCPA Violations

Tech Whistleblowers Needed: Inquire Within

Constantine Cannon Client’s Historic False Claims Act Settlement Against Cisco for Cybersecurity Fraud Makes Headlines

Cisco Whistleblower Represented by Constantine Cannon Wins First-Ever False Claims Act Settlement for Cybersecurity Fraud

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