In an onstage interview at the American Conference Institute’s 39th International Conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act David Last, Chief of the FCPA Unit of Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, and David Fuhr, the Unit’s Assistant Chief, reflected on the year’s most pressing enforcement issues. Acknowledging that 2022 had been difficult for DOJ’s … Continue Reading
On November 28, 2022, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced a settlement agreement with Payward, Inc., known as Kraken (“Kraken”), a United States-based virtual currency exchange. Kraken agreed to pay $362,158.70 to resolve its potential civil liability for 826 apparent violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (“Apparent Violations”). The settlement amount … Continue Reading
On March 2, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the creation of the interagency Task Force KleptoCapture (the “Task Force”) to enforce the sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures against Russian officials and oligarchs in response to the conflict in Ukraine. The Task Force will consist of prosecutors and agents from numerous federal … Continue Reading
Squire Patton Boggs has published its first edition of the Commodities & Shipping Group’s (CSG) Quarterly Update. The topic we chose to focus on for this publication is slavery in supply chains. The Global Survey Index reports over 45.8 million people are subject to modern slavery (26% of whom are children, and 55% are women … Continue Reading
On January 21, 2022, the Department of Justice issued an opinion applying the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to a Hollywood movie-like factual scenario relating to extortion and duress. The opinion is one of two FCPA opinions published within the last two years. Before those two opinions, DOJ had not published one since 2014. Publication of … Continue Reading
On February 26, 2020, Judge Janet Bond Arterton, a federal judge for the District of Connecticut, overturned a former Alstom SA executive’s conviction under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) relating to a project to build power plants in Indonesia. Judge Arterton found that, despite a jury verdict to the contrary, prosecutors failed to prove … Continue Reading
In certain circumstances, a company’s statement that one of its employees poses a significant and unacceptable compliance risk is not defamatory. According to a recent federal appellate decision, such a statement (made by a company while complying with a deferred prosecution agreement relating to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations) had no “provably false factual … Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit held that the anti-retaliation provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act do not protect whistleblowers who make internal complaints about potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The court’s ruling limits the remedies available to employees who claim to have suffered adverse employment actions in retaliation for raising FCPA concerns.… Continue Reading
In 2018, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued many important policy updates and rollouts that will have far-reaching impact. Our firm’s Alert provides an easily navigated yet detailed summary of developments. Policy Shifts at the Department of Justice – 2018 in Review focuses on government investigations and white collar prosecutions. The Alert covers:… Continue Reading
Resolving corruption problems found during international mergers and acquisitions should be more certain in the New Year. Potential problems under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) can be handled in light of guidance provided by the Department of Justice (the DOJ). … Continue Reading
In late 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein announced a revised FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy to be incorporated into the United States Attorneys’ Manual. With this revised policy, the Department of Justice (DOJ) aims to provide a level of certainty to companies in order to encourage voluntary disclosures of potential violations of the FCPA.… Continue Reading
In remarks at NYU’s Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement, Steven Peikin, the new Co-Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, voiced a question that has been on the minds of many anticorruption practitioners and compliance professionals: Will the SEC continue to be committed to robust FCPA enforcement?” “My answer to that question is simple,” Peikin … Continue Reading
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein pledged an enforcement environment in which businesses can thrive. In keynote remarks at the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, he emphasized the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) commitment to “avoiding unnecessary interference in law-abiding enterprises.” Rosenstein also promoted the benefits of corporate compliance and self-reporting. Although allegedly offering “no breaking news” about DOJ policies, … Continue Reading
Since being elected in 2010, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has been trying to have Colombia become a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). As part of this endeavor, in January 2011, Colombia formally applied to become a participant of the Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions (the “Working … Continue Reading
In an effort to enhance its ability to investigate and prosecute Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) cases, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Criminal Division has launched a new one-year FCPA pilot program effective April 5, 2016. The program has three main goals: Motivate companies to voluntarily self-disclose FCPA-related misconduct Motivate companies to fully cooperate with … Continue Reading
In a landmark decision, the first Deferred Prosecution Agreement (“DPA”) was approved on Monday at the Royal Courts of Justice, by Lord Justice Leveson. The DPA was introduced as a means of alternative disposal following a criminal investigation into a corporate organisation back in February 2014, under the Crime and Courts Act 2013[1]. It is … Continue Reading
Anti-bribery and corruption has been a hot topic in the US for almost 40 years. The topic has historically however received much less attention within Europe. That is now changing as Europe is beginning to catch up and many European countries have already implemented anti-bribery laws much stricter than those in the US. Recent events … Continue Reading
Reports suggest that the SFO is currently investigating and prosecuting serious allegations of complex fraud and corruption. The announcement this spring that the SFO had started an investigation into the Bank of England’s actions following the rigging rumours, (as reported by the BBC amongst others) demonstrates its intention to pursue high-profile offenders. David Green, who … Continue Reading
This article was originally published by LexisNexis and is reproduced with permission. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been fined £300 million and five of its employees given suspended prison sentences in China for bribery – but is this the end of the matter? What impact will the verdicts have on other multinational companies conducting business in China? … Continue Reading
1. New law or regulation State level: No developments. Local level (Beijing & Shanghai): No developments. Communist Party Rules: (1) On January 16, 2014, the Communist Party of China (“CPC”) Central Committee issued the Regulation on Selection and Appointment of the Party and Government Leaders (the “Regulation”), which took effect on the same day and … Continue Reading
New law or regulation State level: (1) It was reported on 8 December 2013 that the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (“CPC”) and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the Provisions on Administration of Domestic Official Reception by Party and Government Organs” (the “Provisions”) to … Continue Reading
1. New law or regulation State level: On November 25, 2013, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council jointly issued the Regulation to Ban Official Extravagance (the “Regulation”), which regulate the management of funds, official travel, official receptions, official vehicles, and official conferences, etc. According to the Regulation, the … Continue Reading
1. New law or regulation State level: No developments On September 23, 2013, the Ministry of Finance, the National Government Affairs Administration, and the Administration of Government Affairs, directly under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (“CPC”), jointly issued the Administrative Measures on Conferences of Central and State Departments (“Measures”), which target … Continue Reading
The most recent FCPA and anticorruption enforcement developments involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are summarized below. Thanks, as always, to Squire Sanders’ Shanghai Office for monitoring these enforcement actions. 1. New law or regulation State level: (1) It was reported on July 6, 2013 that the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (“SPP”) of China issued … Continue Reading
