The 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released this week by Transparency International shows that corruption levels remain at a standstill worldwide, with 86 percent of countries making little to no progress in the last 10 years. Nearly two-thirds of nations scored below 50 on the 100-point scale this year. The Read More
Last October, the Securities and Exchange Commission sent a clear message to companies with significant operations overseas: ensure that a robust anti-bribery program is in place and functioning properly or pay the price. The SEC sent that message via a $10 million fine against Sussex, Wisconsin-based printing and marketing company Read More
The next time a CEO or board member questions the value of internal audit and compliance, just point to the colossal sum of cash that Goldman Sachs is shelling out to settle bribery and corruption charges. The investment bank agreed to pay a whopping $2.9 billion, with a “B,” to Read More
The Department of Justice released a rare Foreign Corrupt Practices Act opinion letter in response to an inquiry from a company, highlighting an avenue of communication where companies can get answers to compliance concerns for planned future actions. The inquiry asked whether a prospective fee paid to a foreign subsidiary Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged a consumer loan company $21.7 million to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FPCA). The SEC says that a former Mexican subsidiary of World Acceptance Corporation (WAC), a South Carolina-based consumer loan company, paid more than $4 million from at Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that Ohio-based pharmaceutical company Cardinal Health has agreed to pay more than $8 million to resolve charges that it violated the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). According to the SEC’s order, Cardinal’s internal Read More
Aircraft company Airbus has agreed to pay combined penalties of more than $3.9 billion to resolve foreign bribery charges with authorities in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. It is the largest settlement arising from bribery charges ever. The Department of Justice said in a statement that the Read More
When the Securities and Exchange Commission announced last week that it was settling charges against printing and graphics company Quad/Graphics Inc., it cited multiple internal audit and compliance failures as contributing factors in securities law and bribery violations by the company. The Wisconsin-based digital and print marketing provider has agreed Read More
Shares of telecom equipment maker Nokia dropped more than 8 percent last Friday after the company revealed that it is investigating potential compliance problems at its Alcatel-Lucent unit, which it acquired in 2016. The Finnish company disclosed the investigation into certain transactions of the unit in its annual report, which Read More
With the global crackdown on bribery and corruption over the last decade, organizations are realizing the need to fully implement structured anti-bribery programs that are continuously monitored. A new report from the Internal Audit Foundation highlights the important role internal audit plays in assuring these programs are set up for Read More
