At C2I, we support voluntarily disclosing violations of government laws and regulations, and can help your company do its due diligence to determine whether a voluntary disclosure is warranted. If it is, we can help investigate and document the violation to the Government’s satisfaction. Voluntarily disclosing violations is not only the right thing to do, it’s also used as a mitigating factor when sentencing occurs. The Government may still impose civil penalties for violations, but they will generally be significantly less than if a voluntary disclosure hadn’t been made. In October 2014, a subsidiary of Intel Corporation agreed to a $750,000 civil penalty for ongoing export violations that they voluntarily disclosed. See the article below from the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security for more details:
Intel Subsidiary Agrees to $750,000 Penalty for Unauthorized Encryption Exports
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Bureau of Industry and Security, Department of Commerce
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) today announced that Wind River Systems of Alameda, Calif., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation, has agreed to a $750,000 civil penalty to settle charges that it sold encryption software products to foreign government customers and to organizations identified on the BIS Entity List without the required Department of Commerce licenses.
In April 2012, Wind River Systems voluntarily disclosed to BIS that between 2008 and 2011 the company made 55 exports of operating software valued at $2.9 million to governments and various end users in China, Hong Kong, Russia, Israel, South Africa, and South Korea. The operating software is controlled under Export Administration Regulations for national security reasons, and some of the export recipients in China are on the BIS Entity List.
“I approved penalties in this case because the violations were ongoing over a period of several years,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Enforcement, David W. Mills. “Because the violations were voluntarily disclosed, the company received significant mitigation. This penalty should serve as a reminder to companies of their responsibility to know their customers and, when using license exceptions, to ensure their customers are eligible recipients.
BIS controls exports and reexports of commodities, technology, and software to support national security and foreign policy, including nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and missile non-proliferation, human rights, regional stability, and curbing terrorism. Criminal penalties and administrative sanctions can be imposed for violations of the Export Administration Regulations. For more information, please visit www.bis.doc.gov
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