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Jessica Piquet Megaw focuses on compliance and investigations involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

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In a recent roundtable as part of the World Bank Office of Suspension and Debarment’s Fifth International Debarment Colloquium, panelist Joseph Mauro (an Integrity Compliance Specialist with the Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency (INT)) discussed efforts to move from a “stick” to a “carrot” approach with respect to corporate compliance programs.

Under the Bank’s current system, while implementation of a compliance program is a remedial measure for which mitigating credit may apply, individuals within the Integrity Compliance Office were rarely involved in reviewing a compliance program to any significant extent until after a company has already been sanctioned. Under this process, a company’s compliance program was typically reviewed in-depth only as a condition for release from sanction.

Mr. Mauro described a new initiative, which has been ongoing for the past 6-12 months, under which the Bank hopes to incentivize companies to adopt compliance programs prior to allegations of misconduct. Under the new system, the Integrity Compliance Office will work with INT investigators to perform a thorough compliance program analysis before a company is sanctioned to determine whether mitigation is warranted.Continue Reading World Bank Purports to Move From “Stick” to “Carrot” Approach on Compliance

The World Bank Group (the Bank) published a joint Sanctions System Annual Report for fiscal year 2019 on October 10. This report, which reflects on the Sanctions System’s growth since its implementation twenty years ago, provides an overview of activities undertaken by the Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency (INT), Office of Suspension and Debarment (OSD), and

As we discussed in last week’s blog post, on November 29, 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein made remarks at the American Conference Institute’s 34th International Conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) recognizing the success of the FCPA Enforcement Plan and Guidance (commonly referred to as the FCPA “Pilot Program”),

Yesterday, in remarks made at the 34th International Conference on the FCPA, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein recognized the success of the FCPA Pilot Program and announced a revised FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy geared at “increas[ing] the volume of voluntary disclosures” and “enhanc[ing] the [DOJ’s] ability to identify and punish culpable individuals.”  A transcript of Mr. Rosenstein’s remarks can be found here.

Most importantly, the policy – which has been formally incorporated into the United States Attorneys’ Manual and is limited to FCPA cases – creates the presumption that a company meeting all standards relating to voluntary self-disclosure, full cooperation, and timely and appropriate remediation will have their case resolved through a declination “absent aggravating circumstances involving the seriousness of the offense or the nature of the offender.” Under the policy, aggravating circumstances include (but are not limited to):
Continue Reading Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein Announces Significant New FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy

On June 5, 2017, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held that disgorgement in SEC enforcement actions operates as a penalty in Kokesh v. Securities and Exchange Commission.  This means that disgorgement is subject to the federal five-year statute of limitations under 28 U.S.C. §2462. The Kokesh decision settled a dispute between the US

On October 7, the World Bank Group (the Bank) Integrity Vice Presidency (INT) released its Annual Update for the 2016 Fiscal Year (the FY2016 Report or the Report).  This Report emphasizes INT’s endeavor to protect Bank-funded procurement projects in the immediately preceding fiscal year, and sets out INT’s current and future policy, investigation, and enforcement

On February 8, 2016, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced a $2,485,890 settlement with Barclays Bank Plc (“Barclays”).  According to the settlement announcement, Barclays processed 159 US-dollar (“USD”)-denominated transactions on behalf of Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe Limited (“Barclays Zimbabwe”) between July 2008 and September 2013.  OFAC stated that the transactions violated § 541.201 of the Zimbabwe Sanctions Regulations (“ZSR”), 31 C.F.R. Part 541 (prohibiting transactions involving blocked property).
Continue Reading OFAC Penalizes Barclays for Zimbabwe Sanctions Violations