Friday Roundup
Consistently damaged, across the pond, scrutiny alerts and updates, and for the reading stack. It’s all here in the Friday roundup.
“Consistently Damaged”
In this 12 minute video, Neil Bruce (CEO and President of SNC-Lavalin) describes his frustration for how the company is not being offered a remediation agreement (Canada’s term for a deferred prosecution agreement) in connection with its long-standing scrutiny. (See here and here for prior posts).
FCPA Flash Podcast – A Conversation With Kevin Abikoff Regarding FCPA Compliance Challenges And Other Developments
The FCPA Flash podcast provides in an audio format the same fresh, candid, and informed commentary about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and related topics as readers have come to expect from written posts on FCPA Professor.
This FCPA Flash episode is a conversation with Kevin Abikoff (Co-chair of Hughes Hubbard & Reed’s Anti-Corruption and Internal Investigations Practice Group). In the podcast, Abikoff discusses: FCPA compliance challenges; his top two legal or policy developments in 2018 in the FCPA space; and whether the FCPA has truly been successful in achieving its objectives.
FCPA Flash Podcast – A Conversation With Joseph Moreno Regarding The Limits Of An FCPA Compliance Program
The FCPA Flash podcast provides in an audio format the same fresh, candid, and informed commentary about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and related topics as readers have come to expect from written posts on FCPA Professor.
This FCPA Flash episode is a conversation with Joseph Moreno (a former federal prosecutor and currently a partner in Cadwalader’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Group). Moreno, along with other Cadwalader attorneys, recently authored this article “When Realities Test the Limits of Your FCPA Program” that caught my eye. During the podcast, Moreno discusses: the origins of the article; how excessive risk aversion regarding corporate hospitality can have negative consequences; what Congressional leaders in the mid-1970’s who led the FCPA movement might think about certain current enforcement theories; and what might happen if certain enforcement theories were actually subjected to judicial scrutiny.
A Focus On Third Parties
Navex Global recently released this report titled “2018 Third-Party Risk Management Benchmark Report.” I am always a bit skeptical of such survey data given that the results often seem to dovetail nicely with the product offering of the company publishing the survey. Indeed, a final section of the report is titled “About Navex Global’s Third-Party Risk Management Solution.”
Moreover, I often wonder whether such surveys are even statistically valid.
In any event, there were certain survey findings which caught my eye.
And Herein Lies The Compliance Challenge
I have no doubt that the individuals associated with the International Forum on Business Ethical Conduct for the Aerospace and Defense Industry (IFBEC) who drafted these recently released “model business courtesies and hospitality guidelines” did so in good faith with sincere efforts to reduce risk under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and related laws.
However, following its guidelines in certain instance will actually increase risk and herein lies the compliance challenge: one can follow so-called best practices and still be exposed to FCPA or related scrutiny. In other words, FCPA compliance is sometimes like a game of heads I win, tails you lose.