Yesterday, Walmart entered into a Non-Prosecution Agreement to settle allegations that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices by paying an intermediary in Brazil for help obtaining construction permits and operating without a system of sufficient anti-corruption related internal accounting controls in Brazil, China, India, and Mexico. Walmart Inc. will be required to pay the DOJ […]
Archive | Violations
Chinese Company Required to Hire U.S. Compliance Officers
In April, ZTE, China’s largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer, was sentenced to a seven year denial of export privileges for illegally shipping telecommunications equipment to Iran and North Korea. The export denial bars American companies from selling components to the Shenzhen-based company. ZTE depends on U.S. companies for parts used in its networking gear and smartphones. […]
Army colonel and wife charged in $20 million bribery scheme – By Richard L. Cassin
A U.S. Army colonel, his wife, and a former defense contractor were indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday for using bribery and fraud to rig military contracts. Anthony Tyrone Roper, 55, is an active duty colonel with the U. S. Army stationed at Fort Gordon, Georgia. Also charged was his wife, Audra Roper, 49, […]
Bombardier Investigation Illustrates Importance of Doing Your Due Diligence
Bombardier, a company that produces aircraft and train equipment and is headquartered in Montréal, Canada is under scrutiny after one of its sales executives in the Sweden office was arrested. In 2013, the Stockholm-based train division of Bombardier won a $350 million contract to supply Azerbaijan with an interlocking system for railway switches and signals. […]
Former Diplomat Pleads Guilty in UN Bribery Case
Francis Lorenzo, a U.S. citizen who served as a foreign diplomat from the Dominican Republic pleaded guilty to six charges, including conspiracy, bribery, money laundering, and tax counts, Wednesday in a United Nations bribery case. Lorenzo agreed to cooperate with the government against co-defendants who include former U.N. General Assembly president John Ashe and Chinese businessmen […]
US DoJ Seeking Forfeiture of $34M from Canadian Company
The DOJ filed a civil complaint on June 30, 2015 for the forfeiture of $34 million from Griffiths Energy International Inc., a Canadian oil company. In the complaint, the DoJ claims that Griffiths Energy bribed Mr. Mahamoud Bechir, Chad’s former ambassador to the United States and Canada and Mr. Youssouf Takane the deputy chief of […]
Schlumberger Subsidiary Pleads Guilty and Agrees to a $232.7M Penalty for Sanctions Program Violations
Drilling and Measurements (D&M), a Texas-based subsidiary of Schlumberger Ltd. was charged with providing oil field services to Iran and Sudan through overseas subsidiaries of Schlumberger Oilfield Holdings from early 2004 through June 2010. D&M personnel outside the United States often sent emails to a U.S.-based D&M manager justifying requests for services in Iran and Sudan, […]
PayPal pays $7.7M Fine for 486 Violations
Over the course of several years, PayPal did not adequately screen its transactions for targets of U.S. Proliferation and Trade Sanctions Programs, and processed transactions equaling approximately $43,000 to denied parties. The company failed to properly screen transactions with OFAC-sanctioned companies and persons resulting in violations of trade sanctions against Iran, Sudan, and Cuba as […]
Qualcomm, Inc. Pays $975M to China Regulators Resulting from China Antitrust Law Violations
With one of the largest corporate fines to-date, Qualcomm Inc. was required to pay $975 million to regulators in China for violating China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (AML), their country’s law prohibiting antitrust / anti-competitive practices. Qualcomm, Inc., a U.S. firm that develops technology for wireless devices (www.qualcomm.com), agreed in the settlement to lower its royalty rates […]
An Example of the Importance of U.S. Export Controls
It can be easy to criticize U.S. export control laws and regulations – “They’re too restrictive”, “They don’t make sense”, “Who cares?”, “Countries can get the same technology from other countries, so what’s the big deal if the U.S. exports it?”, and on and on and on…. The article below is a sobering example of […]