Federal Prosecutors Pressuring Companies
July 29, 2004
Encouraged by recent amendments to the Organizational Sentencing Guidelines, federal prosecutors are pressuring target companies to turn on their employees in ways that were unthinkable a few years ago ... Target companies have become active extensions of the government for purposes of coercing their employees into jeopardizing any opportunity they have to mount a successful defense against possible criminal charges.
Sarbanes-Oxley 'Creep'
June 29, 2004
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) responded to well-publicized allegations of securities fraud. Its commandments about financial and internal control certifications, audit committees, auditor independence and the like expressly target publicly traded corporations. Yet much has been written about the "inevitable" spillover of SOX-type obligations onto not-for-profit organizations, especially in the health care sector. As a result, not-for-profit CEOs, compliance officers and counsel have practical questions.
The New SEC-FDA Alliance
June 29, 2004
On Feb. 5, 2004, the FDA and the SEC announced a new alliance between the two agencies. In a press release describing the changes, the FDA explained that "[u]nder the new referral procedure, any FDA employee who believes a publicly held, FDA-regulated firm has made a false or misleading statement to the investment public concerning a matter within the FDA's authority can initiate a process for referring the matter to the SEC Division of Enforcement."
First Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Decision
June 29, 2004
In the first ruling applying the whistleblower protections of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 18 U.S.C. ' 1514A, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ordered a bank holding company to rehire its former Chief Financial Officer (CFO), after finding that the company fired the CFO in retaliation for reporting alleged accounting misconduct to the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), outside auditors, and others.
Is Bribing Foreign Tax Collectors a Federal Crime?
June 02, 2004
Just when there appears to be a significant uptick in investigations for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Fifth Circuit has issued a decision that sows further confusion over the meaning of the FCPA's criminal prohibitions.
Does 'Cooperation' Obscure the Truth?
June 02, 2004
Nowadays more than ever, accusations of business crime must be put to the test, since the stakes in this post-Enron era are at an all-time high for an accused company's survival and its executives' personal liberty and reputation. The way we test allegations in Anglo-American law is through the adversary system. Yet, just when it's needed the most, the adversary system is increasingly sidelined. For the public company, adversarialism may no longer be an option at all.
In The Courts
June 02, 2004
National cases of interest to your practice.
