Podcasts about Gulnara Karimova

In der Schweiz fühlen sich so viele Arbeitnehmende dauerhaft erschöpft, wie noch wie noch nie. Das zeigt das Barometer "Gute Arbeit". Dieses wird seit 2015 jährlich vom Gewerkschafts-Dachverband Travail-Suisse und der Berner Fachhochschule erhoben. Weitere Themen: Die Bundesanwaltschaft hat die Privatbank «Lombard Odier» und einen ehemaligen Mitarbeiter wegen schwerer Geldwäscherei angeklagt. Es geht um illegale Gelder von Gulnara Karimova, der Tochter des ehemaligen usbekischen Präsidenten. Früher wurde sie Prinzessin genannt, inzwischen gilt sie als Kriminelle. Black Friday ist der Tag für Spottpreise und Schnäppchenjäger. Damit an diesem Tag alles rund läuft und die bestellte Ware möglichst schnell bei den Kundinnen und Kunden ankommt, werden bei Digitec-Galaxus, einem der grössten Onlinehändler der Schweiz, im Warenlager Zusatzschichten geleistet. 2000 bis 3000 Jenische und Sinti sind in der Schweiz als Fahrende unterwegs. Um so leben zu können, wie sie es möchten, brauchen sie Stellplätze. Die Schweiz ist rechtlich verpflichtet, den Fahrenden diese Plätze bereitzustellen. Doch es gibt nach wie vor zu wenige.Nun will der Kanton Solothurn neue Halteplätze zu bauen.

Cuba warns of worsening power blackouts and shortages, Haiti experiences surge in gang violence, Gulf equity markets dip, Azerbaijan dissolves Nagorno-Karabakh region, NATO warns against sale of drone components, 'Monkey Christ' fresco restorer inspires comic opera, Chinese President delivers speech before anniversary, Brazil's Amazon rainforest faces drought, Gulnara Karimova indicted in Switzerland, France faces legal action over racial profiling.

For more than a decade, Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbekistan's first president, illegally amassed a fortune in assets and property, both in Uzbekistan and abroad, estimated to total in the billions of dollars. How Karimova managed to accumulate her fortune and who helped her is the subject of a recently released Freedom for Eurasia report. Joining host Bruce Pannier to discuss Karimova's ill-gotten gains and her foreign facilitators are the three primary report authors: Leila Nazgul Seitbek, chairwoman and founder of Freedom for Eurasia; Kristian Lasslett, professor of criminology at the University of Ulster; and Thomas Mayne, research fellow at the University of Oxford.

Tom Fox and Michael DeBernardis go in-depth about the bribery scandals of three big names in telecom, MTS, VimpelCom, and Telia; Ericsson's shady deals in multiple countries, how knowing high-risk countries and the beneficiaries of companies can save you from trouble, and the importance of visibility for compliance professionals. ▶️ The Bribery Trilogy in Telecom with Tom Fox and Michael DeBernardis Key points discussed in the episode: ✔️ Tom Fox gives a brief background on the VimpelCom case. He points out how the company, including MTS and Telia, were all tied up with the schemes of Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of a former president in Uzbekistan. ✔️ The DOJ and the SEC are confident in tackling companies taking advantage of “shell companies” and getting involved with corrupt government officials. There was malicious intent on the companies' sides regardless of the rank of the person involved. ✔️ Tom Fox describes the Telia case. Michael DeBernardis points out that the difference between the outcomes of Telia, MTS, and VimpelCom's cases was the penalties. Cooperation from Telia and Vimpelcom garnered significant reductions. ✔️ Tom Fox lays out the MTS case. Even when violations were found in Kolorit's purchase, MTS higher-ups presented excuses that the compliance team failed to argue. The control environment for transparency has since improved post-prosecution. ✔️ Michael DeBernardis emphasizes the risk behind unidentified beneficial owners. VimpelCom, Telia, and MTS had full knowledge of their schemes. But the story is a lot more muddied and complex to the ears of the board and compliance professionals. ✔️ Tom Fox retells the Ericsson case, illustrating it as not just a corrupt third-party, paid-for entertainment, or donations. The imagination only limits the depths where companies explore in weaving the most intricate schemes. Michael DeBernardis attributes this to enterprise-wide failure. ✔️ Knowing the high-risk countries can save your company from trouble. Once you start paying bribes, you're stuck. The receiving party already has claws on you and will threaten to report to US authorities if you attempt to exit. Michael DeBernardis adds that despite these cases being beyond US soil, companies won't be able to challenge them. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you have a podcast (or do you want to)? Join the only network dedicated to compliance, risk management, and business ethics, the Compliance Podcast Network. For more information, contact Tom Fox at tfox@tfoxlaw.com. Texas Tax rate at 80% of 8.25%

Next, consider a couple of landmark failures at the Board level around bribery and corruption. VimpelCom Ltd. In 2015 (now Veon Ltd.), the DOJ alleged that Dutch telecom VimpelCom sought to enter the telecom market through the acquisition of a local player, Unitel, as an entrée into the Uzbekistan market. Unitel made clear to VimpelCom that to have access to, obtain and retain business in the Uzbeki telecom space, VimpelCom would have to, according to the DPA, “regularly pay Foreign Officials millions of dollars” to Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of the then President of the country. VimpelCom also acquired another entity Butzel, that was at least partially owned by an Uzbeki government official, who hid their interest through a shell company, which was known to VimpelCom. VimpelCom did not articulate a legitimate business reason for the deal and paid $60 million for Buztel. Ultimately, VimpelCom agreed to pay approximately $800 million in fines for these activities in 2016.  BizJet. Another FCPA enforcement action involved the Tulsa-based company BizJet International Sales and Support Inc. (BizJet), which had four senior executives convicted for their participation in a bribery scheme. But this case also involved the Board of Directions. In the Criminal Information it stated that in November 2005: …at a Board of Directors meeting of the BizJet Board, Executive A and Executive B discussed with the Board that the decision of where an aircraft is sent for maintenance work is generally made by the potential customer’s director of maintenance or chief pilot, that these individuals are demanding $30,000 to $40,000 in commissions, and that BizJet would pay referral fees in order to gain market share. In both cases, this is where the rubber hits the road. If a company is willing to commit bribery and engage in corruption to secure business, no amount of doing compliance is going to help. If senior management is ready, willing and able to lie, cheat and steal, the Board is the final backstop to prevent such conduct. Both the VimpelCom and BizJet Boards sorely failed in their compliance duties. Three key takeaways: Board liability will be severe based upon similar conduct going forward. Board members must critically challenge management on its conduct. The Board is the ultimate backstop against bribery and corruption.

In another blockbuster FCPA prosecution, the Justice Department and the SEC announced an $850 million settlement with Mobile Telesystems (“MTS”), Russia's largest mobile carrier. At the same time, the Justice Department announced criminal indictments against an MTS executive and the notorious corrupt Uzbek official, Gulnara Karimova, on criminal charges.   In this episode, Michael Volkov discusses the MTS Telesystems FCPA enforcement action.  

We are on Episode IV of a five-part exploration of the recent the Department of Justice and Securities Exchange Commission resolution of a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action against the Russian telecom company, Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (MTS). In this episode,  I look at the individual indictments, which charged Gulnara Karimova, daughter of the former President of Uzbekistan, with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and Bekhzod Akhmedov, a former MTS executive based in Uzbekistan with FCPA violations of one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA, two counts of violating the FCPA, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment discussed the three companies who paid bribes to Karimova, who then laundered the money on the international stage. They were VimpelCom Ltd. (now VEON Ltd.), Telia Company AB (formerly TeliaSonera AB) (Telia) and MTS. The schemes Karimova used were so similar as to be almost identical. The only thing that changed was the name of the company she was shaking down money from in her march towards receiving over $1 billion in ill-gotten payments.  The documents which are the subject of this series are:MTS Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA);MTS Criminal Information (MTS Information);SEC Cease and Desist Order (Order);Karimova and Akhmedov Indictment (Indictment);Kolorit Dizayn Ink LLC Plea Agreement (Plea Agreement); andKolorit Dizayn Ink Information (Kolorit Information);DOJ Press Release andSEC Press Release.For additional reading see the blog post, "MTS FCPA Settlement and Karimova Indictment: Part IV – the Individual Indictments" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a stunning resolution to one of the longest running bribery, corruption and money-laundering sagas on the international stage, the Department of Justice and Securities Exchange Commission both announced settlement of a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement action against the Russian telecom company, Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (MTS). (See both the DOJ Press Release and SEC Press Release.) The FCPA enforcement action came in at $850 million which makes it Number 3 in the Top 10 of all-time FCPA settlements. This podcast opens a multi-part series will examine the background facts of the case, provide a detailed review of the bribery schemes involved, the compliance failures of MTS and its actions during the investigation which contributed to the size of the penalty, the individual criminal prosecutions brought by the Department of Justice as a part of this action and the key lessons learned by the compliance practitioner. In this Part 1, I begin with a review of the background facts, the parties and players and the fine and penalty of the MTS Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action. The enforcement action was the third involving the same individual from the same country. That individual was Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of the former President of Uzbekistan. If that name sounds familiar to compliance professionals it is because she was also involved in the receipt of bribes paid in two other Top 10 FCPA enforcement actions; VimpelCom (now VEON Ltd.) and Telia Company AB. Contemporaneously with FCPA enforcement action involving MTS, there was a criminal indictment filed against Karimova and Bekhzod Akhmedov, a former MTS executive based in Uzbekistan. Akhmedov was charged with violating the FCPA for paying bribes to or for the benefit of Karimova and Karimova was charged she with laundering the money received as bribes. The documents which are the subject of this series are:MTS Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA);MTS Criminal Information (MTS Information);SEC Cease and Desist Order (Order);Karimova and Akhmedov Indictment (Indictment);Kolorit Dizayn Ink LLC Plea Agreement (Plea Agreement); andKolorit Dizayn Ink Information (Kolorit Information);  DOJ Press Release andSEC Press Release.For additional reading see the blog post, "MTS FCPA Settlement and Karimova Indictment: Part I-Introduction". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gulnara Karimova's alleged violations of the law are now becoming clearer, but her personal situation inside Uzbekistan is shrouded in mystery. On this week's Majlis, we discuss what is known about her current situation and what her future prospects might be.

Bændur koma saman til ársfundar í Hveragerði á morgun. Að loknum venjulegum ársfundarstörfum verður ráðstefna um sérstöðu íslensks landbúnaðar, þar sem meðal annars smitsjúkdómar, sýklalyfjaónæmi og lífræn ræktun verða til umræðu. Í öndvegi á fundinum situr Guðrún Sigríður Tryggvadóttir, nýr formaður Bændasamtaka Íslands. Hún er á leið suður frá Svartárkoti í Bárðardal þar sem hún býr. Við slógum á þráðinn til Guðrúnar og spjölluðum um málefni bænda. - Gulnara Karimova, dóttir fyrrverandi einræðisherra Úsbekistan Islams Karimov, hefur verið færð í fangaklefa eftir að hafa verið haldið í stofufangelsi í fimm ár af óljósum sökum. Gulnara á sér litríka sögu en hún reyndi fyrir sér sem poppstjarna og tískuhönnuður og var bendluð við stór spillingarmál í Svíþjóð, Sviss og víðar. Vera Illugadóttir sagði frá. - Okkar Jarðarbúa bíða stór verkefni að leysa á næstu árum og áratugum til að útrýma fátækt, tryggja jafnrétti, bæta heilsu, auka sjálfbærni, vernda umhverfið - stíga öll þessi framfaraskref sem kveðið er á um í heimsmarkmiðum Sameinuðu þjóðanna. Hvert og eitt okkar getur lagt sitt af mörkum, auðvitað ríkið, en líka fyrirtækin. En eru fyrirtækin okkar nægilega meðvituð um samfélagslega ábyrgð sína? Eru þau að bæta heiminn? Við spurðum gesti okkar, Þorstein Kára Jónsson, varaformann Festu, og Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttur, framkvæmdastjóra Festu - miðstöðvar um samfélagsábyrgð fyrirtækja. - Tónlist: Frank Sinatra - Strangers in the night; Joni Mitchell - The dry cleaner from Des Moines; Googoosha (Gulnara Karimova) - How dare

In this special bonus podcast, I am joined by Mike Volkov to discuss the stunning resolution to one of the longest running bribery, corruption and money-laundering sagas on the international stage, the FCPA enforcement action against the Russian telecom company, MTS. The FCPA enforcement action came in at $850 million which makes it Number 3 in the Top 10 of all-time FCPA settlement. Some of the highlights include: ·     The background facts;·     Similarities with VimpleCom and Telia;·     Criminal Indictments of Gulnara Karimova and Bekhzod Akhmedov;·     Jurisdictional issues raised;·     Lessons learned for the compliance professional;·     The clear delineation from Yates Memo to the FCPA Pilot Program to the 2017 FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy to this enforcement action; and final thoughts.  Resources: 1.     MTS Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA);2.     MTS Criminal Information (MTS Information);3.     SEC Cease and Desist Order (Order);4.     Karimova and Akhmedov Indictment (Indictment);5.     Kolorit Dizayn Ink Plea Agreement (Plea Agreement);  6.     Kolorit Dizayn Ink Information (Kolorit Information);7.     DOJ Press Release; and 8.     SEC Press Release. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

MARCH 8, 2019 BY TOM FOX In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News: ·      Gulnara Karimova charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering in the whooping amount of $866MM. (FCPA Blog)·      How to win friends and influence enemies? (Financial Times) ·      Facebook says it not prioritizes privacy. Do you believe it? (New York Times)·      What happens when billionaires fight? (Wall Street Journal) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom and Jay were both conferencing this week, albeit in different disciplines. Tom at Podfest Expo and Jay at the ABA White Collar Crime conference. In between they discussed some of this week’s top compliance and ethics stories which caught their collective eyes. 1.    MTS has massive FCPA resolution. Harry Cassin breaks the story.2.    CTFT to follow DOJ lead on enforcement and SEC lead on Whistleblowers.  Dick Cassin reports.3.    Hacienda Healthcare is one of the worst corporate governance failures ever. 4.    Gulnara Karimova charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering in the whooping amount of $866MM. Harry Cassin reports. 5.    Are consumers the new regulators of global business practices? Richard Young explores. 6.    Are Boards getting sufficient information on risk? Kristin Broughton reports in the WSJ .Matt Kelly says compliance professionals can help. 7.    Is Baker MacKenzie in deep trouble over JBS bribery settlement? Former partner to be deposed over hire of Brazilian prosecutor.8.    Dutch prosecutors have told Shell the company will be criminally indicted over its role in obtain drilling rights in Nigeria. Chloe Taylor reports.9.    Jay begins a new role as a Featured Columnist on Corporate Compliance Insights. Check out CCI’s cool new look. 10. Tom returns his periodic podcast series the Opinion Release Papers, with a five-part offering this week. Check out the following: Part 1-Opinion Release 10-03 on charitable donations under the FCPA; Part 2-Opinion Release 10-02 on hiring foreign officials as agents; Part 3- Opinion Release 07-01, travel for foreign officials; Part 4-Opinion Release 07-02, travel for and entertainment of foreign officials; Part 5-Opinion Release 11-01, why should you use the process.  The podcast is available on multiple sites: the FCPA Compliance Report, iTunes, JDSupra, Panoplyand YouTube. The Compliance Podcast Network is now also on Spotify. It is now also on Corporate Compliance Insights. Tom Fox is the Compliance Evangelist and can be reached at tfox@tfoxlaw.com. Jay Rosen is Mr. Monitor and can be reached at jrosen@affiliatedmonitors.com.  For more information on how an independent monitor can help improve your company’s ethics and compliance program, visit our sponsor Affiliated Monitors at www.affiliatedmonitors.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

MARCH 8, 2019 BY TOM FOX In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News: ·      Gulnara Karimova charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering in the whooping amount of $866MM. (FCPA Blog)·      How to win friends and influence enemies? (Financial Times) ·      Facebook says it not prioritizes privacy. Do you believe it? (New York Times)·      What happens when billionaires fight? (Wall Street Journal) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom and Jay were both conferencing this week, albeit in different disciplines. Tom at Podfest Expo and Jay at the ABA White Collar Crime conference. In between they discussed some of this week’s top compliance and ethics stories which caught their collective eyes. 1.    MTS has massive FCPA resolution. Harry Cassin breaks the story.2.    CTFT to follow DOJ lead on enforcement and SEC lead on Whistleblowers.  Dick Cassin reports.3.    Hacienda Healthcare is one of the worst corporate governance failures ever. 4.    Gulnara Karimova charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering in the whooping amount of $866MM. Harry Cassin reports. 5.    Are consumers the new regulators of global business practices? Richard Young explores. 6.    Are Boards getting sufficient information on risk? Kristin Broughton reports in the WSJ .Matt Kelly says compliance professionals can help. 7.    Is Baker MacKenzie in deep trouble over JBS bribery settlement? Former partner to be deposed over hire of Brazilian prosecutor.8.    Dutch prosecutors have told Shell the company will be criminally indicted over its role in obtain drilling rights in Nigeria. Chloe Taylor reports.9.    Jay begins a new role as a Featured Columnist on Corporate Compliance Insights. Check out CCI’s cool new look. 10. Tom returns his periodic podcast series the Opinion Release Papers, with a five-part offering this week. Check out the following: Part 1-Opinion Release 10-03 on charitable donations under the FCPA; Part 2-Opinion Release 10-02 on hiring foreign officials as agents; Part 3- Opinion Release 07-01, travel for foreign officials; Part 4-Opinion Release 07-02, travel for and entertainment of foreign officials; Part 5-Opinion Release 11-01, why should you use the process.  The podcast is available on multiple sites: the FCPA Compliance Report, iTunes, JDSupra, Panoplyand YouTube. The Compliance Podcast Network is now also on Spotify. It is now also on Corporate Compliance Insights. Tom Fox is the Compliance Evangelist and can be reached at tfox@tfoxlaw.com. Jay Rosen is Mr. Monitor and can be reached at jrosen@affiliatedmonitors.com.  For more information on how an independent monitor can help improve your company’s ethics and compliance program, visit our sponsor Affiliated Monitors at www.affiliatedmonitors.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The baseball playoffs are here.  For the Sox, the hated Yankees. For the Astros, they begin their World Series defense against the Cleveland Indians. Tom and Jay discuss and take a look at some of the week’s top compliance and ethics stories. Styker is now a two-time FCPA loser. Will there be a third? Sam Rubenfeld reports in the WSJ Risk and Compliance Journal. Dick Cassin reports in the FCPA Blog. In a pique of sanity, Elon Musk settles his SEC lawsuit which might have barred him from serving on the Board of a public company. Tim Higgins and Dave Michaels consider the fallout in the WSJ. Both James Stewart, writing in the NYTand Tom Zanki, in Law360 say the Board needs better oversight. Former Chile mining official settles FCPA charges. Dick Cassin reports in the FCPA Blog. Sam Rubenfeld reports in the WSJ Risk & Compliance Journal. The commentary from the Petrobras FCPA enforcement action continues. Tom runs a 3-part series (Part 1, Part 2& Part 3). Mike Volkov weighs in on Corruption, Crime and Compliance. Andy Webb-Vidal explores the 10 ten takeaways from Operation Car Wash on Corporate Compliance Insights. Jonathan Marks looks at it from the ‘Realm of the Obvious’ in his Board and Fraud blog. MLB reportedly under investigation for FCPA violations in Latin America. Cheryl Ring reports in Fangraph. More on ruling on attorney-client privilege in UK. Sam Rubenfled in WSJ Risk & Compliance Journal reports SFO will not appeal ENRC ruling. Andrew Reeves provides five key takeaways in the FCPA Blog. Panasonic Avionics finally get a monitor. Kelly Swanson reports in GIR. Robbing a national bank, think big. Margot Patrick, Gabriele Steinhauser and Patricia Kowsmann report in the WSJ. Women who have behaved badly. Rosmah Mansor, wife of former Malaysian PM Najib Razak charged with money-laundering, Harry Cassin in the FCPA Blog. SFO moves to sieze assets of Gulnara Karimova the eldest daughter of the late Uzbek President Islam Karimoa. Dick Cassin the FCPA Blog. Want a 50% discount to one of the top compliance conferences around? Join Tom and AMI’s Eric Feldman at CONVERGE18 in Denver on October 9-11. I hope you can join me at the event. For information on the event, click here. As an extra benefit to fans of This Week in FCPA, CONVERGE18 is offering a 50% discount off the registrationEnter discount code TOMFOXVIP. The baseball playoffs are here. Tom and gutless wonder Jay discuss. Tom explains why Jay is a gutless wonder. For more information on how an independent monitor can help improve your company’s ethics and compliance program, visit our sponsor Affiliated Monitors at www.affiliatedmonitors.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hindu nationalism in India, making money in war-torn Yemen and family drama in Uzbekistan. Kate Adie introduces correspondents’ stories from around the world. It’s 25 years since Hindu mobs destroyed the Babri mosque in Ayodhya; Mark Tully was there and asks whether it really did mark the end of secularism in India, as was claimed at the time. Bethan McKernan finds that business is booming in Yemen for the tribal leaders, arms traders and khat dealers who know where to look. Peter Robertson dissects the rise and fall of Gulnara Karimova who was once seen as her father's favoured successor as president of Uzbekistan. Katy Watson explores the complex history and geography of the word ‘America’ – should it be used to refer to a country, a continent, two continents? And Hannah King joins the British soldiers training the Somali National Army.

Today I want to consider a couple of failures at the Board level around bribery and corruption.    VimpelCom  Board of Directors and Senior Management Involvement  VimpelCom sought to enter the telecom market through the acquisition of a local player, Unitel, as an entrée into the Uzbekistan market. Unitel made clear to VimpelCom that to have access to, obtain and retain business in the Uzbeki telecom space, VimpelCom would have to, according to the VimpelCom DPA, “regularly pay Foreign Officials millions of dollars” who was Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of the then President of the country. VimpelCom also acquired another entity Butzel, that was at least partially owned by an Uzbeki government official, who hid their interest through a shell company, which was known to VimpelCom. VimpelCom did not articulate a legitimate business reason for the deal and paid $60MM for Buztel. As laid out in the VimpleCom’s Information, its senior management was well aware of the potential FCPA risk. The Information stated, “From the beginning of VIMPELCOM’s deliberations concerning its entry into Uzbekistan, there was an acknowledgment of the serious FCPA risks associated with certain VIMPELCOM management’s recommendation to purchase Buztel in addition to Unitel… Documents prepared for the December 13, 2005 Finance Committee meeting explained that Buztel was owned by a Russian company “and a partner” without further detailing the identity of the “partner” who was in fact Ms. Karimova. The materials documented that “[t]hrough a local partner, [VIMPELCOM was] in a preferred position to purchase both assets . . . .”” The Finance Committee “identified the likelihood of corruption and expressed concerns.” Even with these reservations, the Finance Committee failed to identify the local partners.  But there was even more specific cautions around a FCPA violation when one Finance Committee member ““expressed concern on the structure of the deal and FCPA issues” and noted “that if [VIMPELCOM] goes into this deal under this structure and if the structure violates the FCPA picture, [VIMPELCOM’s] name could be damaged.”” The Finance Committee voted to move forward with the Buztel portion of the transaction “provided that all issues related to the FCPA should be resolved.”  These concerns moved up to the VimpelCom Board of Directors. In a December, 2005 Board meeting, “the likelihood of corruption was further discussed” and that “there was a recognition that a thorough analysis was needed to ensure that the Buztel payment was not merely a corrupt pretext for other services and favors. There were also numerous requests to ensure that the deal complied with the FCPA. Ultimately, VIMPELCOM’s board approved the Buztel and Unitel acquisitions, with a condition that FCPA analysis from an international law firm be provided to VIMPELCOM.”  Here VimpelCom management defrauded its own Board of Directors. The Information states, “VIMPELCOM’s management then sought FCPA advice that could be used to satisfy the board’s requirement while allowing VIMPELCOM to proceed with a knowingly corrupt deal. Despite the known risks of Foreign Official’s involvement in Buztel, certain VIMPELCOM management obtained FCPA legal opinions from an international law firm supporting the acquisition of Unitel and Buztel; however, certain VIMPELCOM management did not disclose to the law firm Foreign Official’s known association with Buztel. As a result, the legal opinion did not address the critical issue identified by the VIMPELCOM board as a prerequisite to the acquisition. Management limited the law firm’s FCPA review of the transaction to ensure that the legal opinion would be favorable. Having obtained a limited FCPA legal opinion designed to ostensibly satisfy the board’s requirement, certain VIMPELCOM management then proceeded with the Buztel acquisition and corrupt entry into the Uzbek market.”  b.      Fraudulent Stock Transfer  But that was only the start as VimpelCom then entered into a partnership with the foreign official who was given an ownership interest in Unitel, through the shell corporation. The shell company held an option to sell this interest back to VimpelCom in 2009. It would appear that the owner of the shell corporation was well known within both VimpelCom and Unitel but both entities referred to this person as the “partner” or “local partner”. VimpelCom set up partnership where, “Shell Company obtained an indirect interest of approximately 7% in Unitel for $20 million, and Shell Company received an option to sell its shares back to Unitel in 2009 for between $57.5 million and $60 million for a guaranteed net profit of at least $37.5 million.”  VimpelCom’s Board was required to and did approve the partnership but as with the original acquisition, “approval again was conditioned on “FCPA analysis by an international law firm” and required that the “the identity of the Partner . . . [be] presented to and approved by the Finance Committee.” VIMPELCOM received an FCPA opinion on the sale of the indirect interest in Unitel to Shell Company on or about August 30, 2006. The FCPA advice VIMPELCOM received was not based on important details that were known to certain VIMPELCOM management and that certain VIMPELCOM management failed to provide to outside counsel, including Foreign Official’s control of Shell Company. In addition, documents, including minutes from the Finance Committee’s meeting on August 28, 2006, failed to identify the true identity of the local partner by name while noting the “extremely sensitive” nature of the issue.”  Some three years later, the shell company exercised its option to be bought out of the partnership for $57.5MM, after having invested $20MM. This netted a profit of $37.5MM. Unfortunately for all involved, they routed the payments for the transaction through financial institutions in the US, thereby creating FCPA jurisdiction.  BizJet  Another FCPA enforcement action involved the Tulsa-based company BizJet, which had four senior executives convicted for their participation in a bribery scheme. But this case also involved the Board of Directions. In the Criminal Information it stated, that in November 2005, “at a Board of Directors meeting of the BizJet Board, Executive A and Executive B discussed with the Board that the decision of where an aircraft is sent for maintenance work is generally made by the potential customer’s director of maintenance or chief pilot, that these individuals are demanding $30,000 to $40,000 in commissions, and that BizJet would pay referral fees in order to gain market share.”  In both cases, this is where the rubber hits the road. If a company is willing to commit bribery and engage in corruption to secure business no amount of doing compliance is going to help. If senior management is ready, willing and able to lie, cheat and steal, the Board is the final backstop to prevent such conduct. Both the VimpelCom and BizJet Boards sorely failed in their compliance duties.  Three Key Takeaways Board liability will be severe based upon similar conduct going forward. Board members must critically challenge management on its conduct. The Board is the ultimate backstop against bribery and corruption. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Natalia Antelava charts the downfall of Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of the Uzbek president. She hears an inside account of the family feud from Gulnara's son, Islam Karimov Jr.

Natalia Antelava goes in search of Gulnara Karimova - pop star, philanthropist, socialite, intellectual - oh, and incidentally (according to leaked US Embassy cables) the most hated woman in Uzbekistan. The image that graces the screens and billboards of Tashkent is one of a glamorous, dynamic, celebrity who flits from Cannes to New York to Moscow, fronting glossy music videos under her musical alias GooGoosha, with stars like Julio Iglesias and Gerard Depardieu. She runs charities and helps children all in an attempt to win the hearts of the Uzbek people for what some say is a bid to succeed her father as president. But her ambitions have taken a hit and the princess of Uzbekistan's star is falling. Described as a 'robber baron' in cables from the US Embassy, her business dealings are getting her into trouble. Natalia travels to Sweden to find that Karimova us connected to a bribery case which is linked with a money laundering investigation in Switzerland and France. Karimova's rivals for power are now taking advantage. Her TV stations have been shut down and her charity has been subject to a tax investigation. With the story hitting the headlines, Karimova has taken to Twitter to defend herself, including a virtual encounter with Natalia herself. What is the future for GooGoosha and what does this power struggle say about the nature of power in one of the world's most repressive states? Producer: Wesley Stephenson.

LISTEN TO PODCAST HEREA Picture of President Karimov’s Daughter Gulnara Karimova aka the pop star Googoosha Downtown Taskent is full of UK Embassy staff with no interest in the country or it’s people and US intelligence agencies making up stories out of Uzbek intelligence dross extracted from torture. Colin Powell signed off the certification that said that Uzbekistan was making progress towards human rights.Colin Powell was lying.Links: Craig Murray: The Uzbekistan blog!Craig Murray: The Dangers of Friendly DictatorshipsCorpWatch: Coca-Cola accused over Uzbek ventureGulnara Karimova’s Wiki entryThe Roberts Report: President Islom Karimov’s daughter Gulnara (aka Googoosha)Karmabanque: Boycott Coca-ColaGoogoosha on YouTube (adult entertainment)Addendum:Plane spottingCraig Murray’s confidential documents page!