The Senate Homeland Security Committee's Financial and Contracting Oversight Subcommittee is taking a close look at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the Inspector General in response to a number of whistleblower allegations about misuse of agency resources. Subcommittee Chairwoman Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Ranking Member Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) requested a number of documents from Acting Inspector General Charles Edwards related to the allegations, including the sharing of confidential whistleblower material with agency officials "potentially in violation of law" and the inappropriate hiring of Edwards' wife within the office.
The D.C. United States District Court dismissed a whistleblower's action against Staples, OfficeMax, Target, and Industries for the Blind for alleged false country of origin statements on entry documentation to avoid payment of antidumping duties on pencils from China. The anonymous whistleblower pursued the action under the False Claims Act, which allows private citizens to bring suit on behalf of the government over false or fraudulent claims for payment to the federal government. In return, the whistleblower receives a portion of the recovered funds. But to bring suit, the whistleblower must have inside information, unless he or she is the original source of public information. In this case, the whistleblower was neither.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Dec. 10-14 in case they were missed.
Japan-based Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co. and affiliates will pay $45 million, plus interest, to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly failing to pay antidumping and countervailing duties, said the Justice Department. DOJ alleged the company misrepresented the country of origin on documents submitted to CBP to avoid paying antidumping and countervailing duties on its imports of carbazole violet pigment number 23 (CVP-23).
The Securities and Exchange Commission, along with the Department of Justice, released a guide to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The resource “aims to provide businesses and individuals with information to help them abide by the law, detect and prevent FCPA violations, and implement effective compliance programs,” it said. The 120-page guide, entitled “A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” provides a detailed analysis of the FCPA, and closely examines the SEC and DOJ approach to FCPA enforcement, the SEC said.
A $6.3 million settlement was reached Monday to resolve claims that companies misclassified auto parts manufactured in China and imported to the U.S. to evade $2.5 million in duties, said Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Six companies from the U.S. and China, as well as two named individuals, allegedly violated the False Claims Act by knowingly misclassifying auto manifolds to obtain a duty rate of zero, ICE said, while charging its customers the correct duty of 2.5%, and retaining as "profit" the duty that should have been paid to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Between June 2004 and June 2011, the U.S. alleged that the company evaded $2,549,000 worth of duties on 706 entries involving manifolds valued at $102 million.
Direct Resource Inc. has agreed to pay the government $450,000 to resolve allegations that the company falsely claimed payment in violation of the Trade Agreements Act (TAA), which prohibits the sale of products to federal agencies from countries that do not have a reciprocal trade agreement with the United States, the Justice Department said May 8, 2012.
The U.S. Justice Department said it intervened in a lawsuit against Japanese company, Toyo Ink Manufacturing Co. Ltd., that is accused of misrepresenting the country of origin on documents presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to avoid paying antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of the colorant carbazole violet pigment number 23 (CVP-23).
The following are trade-related highlights of the Executive Communications sent to Congress for December 30, 2011 - January 19, 2012:
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Jane Norberg has been appointed as Deputy Chief of the Office of the Whistleblower, which oversees the agency's whistleblower program. The Chief of the Office of the Whistleblower stated that Norberg will help fulfill the mission of "administering a vigorous whistleblower program that will help the SEC identify and halt frauds early and quickly to minimize investor losses."