The Massachusetts State Ethics Commission has published an Online Training Program for Chapter 268A. The interactive questions and answers are directed at state employees. Read more »
Norfolk Developer Accused Of Ethics Breach
Michele Morgan Bolton of the Boston Globe reports that Jack Scott, president of Pine Creek Development Corp., was accused last week of violating state law by allegedly offering a free week at his Pennsylvania cabin to the chairman of the town’s Conservation Commission while he had an application before the board: Developer Accused of Ethics … Read more »
Larger Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Fines Ahead
Lynn Marek of the National Law Journal reports: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission expects in the next two to six months to slap larger penalties than in the past on a number of companies that have allegedly violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, reminding lawyers in the field that the regulator is taking a … Read more »
TRACE and FCPA Opinion Procedure Release 08-03
The Summer 2008 newsletter from TRACE International provides some more background on FCPA Opinion Procedure Release 08-03. TRACE points out that this release was the first time that the DOJ has approved the payment of a specific dollar amount to government officials. Read more »
The Costs of Corruption
The damage and inefficiency caused by corruption, in either financial or social terms, should not be underestimated. The World Bank has estimated that more that US$ 1 Trillion is paid in bribes annually. See World Bank, “The Costs of Corruption” (8 April 2004). An Ernst & Young survey of executives indicated that almost half of … Read more »
UK’s Law Commission on Reforming Bribery
The United Kingdom’s Law Commission has published its recommendations in a new report on reforming the bribery laws in the United Kingdom. The LC Report 313 on reforming bribery (.pdf) states: Bribery has been contrary to the law at least since Magna Carta declared, “We will sell to no man…either justice or right”. Most people … Read more »
Top Ten Ways to Prevent Employee Theft
From Tracy Coenen of the Fraud Files Blog, Top Ten Ways to Prevent Employee Theft: 1. Education . If employees are aware of fraud and how it happens, they will be your best on-the-job sleuths. 2. Surprise Audits . . . 3. Hotlines . A mechanism for anonymous reporting of fraud encourages employees to look … Read more »
Fraud Detected More Often At Bankrupt Companies
Bankrupt companies are three times more likely to have been cited for fraud by U.S. regulators, according to a study released on Monday from Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP. The study also showed that fraud incidents were much more likely to land a company in bankruptcy court. Sheila Smith, head of reorganization services at Deloitte … Read more »
Famous Financial Felons
AOL’s Money and Finance Section put together a slideshow of 18 famous financial criminals, with their crimes and what they are doing now: Financial Felons: Where Are They Now? Read more »
Effective Date for FINSA and CFIUS Regulations
The final regulations were published in the Federal Register on November 21 and will become effective on December 22, 2008. Read more »