The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has issued an administrative cease and desist order as to Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (“Watts”), a water valve designer and retailer, and Leesen Chang (“Chang”), former general manager of Watts Valve Changsha Co., a wholly-owned Chinese subsidiary of Watts. Conduct Between 2006 and 2009, Chang, on behalf of Watts’s … Continue Reading
Following a two week trial, on August 4, 2011, a federal jury convicted Joel Esquenazi and Carlos Rodriguez, former executives of Terra Telecommunications Corp. (“Terra”), on all counts for their roles in a scheme to pay bribes to Haitian government officials at the state-owned Telecommunications D’Haiti S.A.M (Haiti Teleco). The DOJ’s press release is here. … Continue Reading
London-based Diageo, the maker of popular liquor brands such as Johnnie Walker scotch and Smirnoff vodka, has agreed to pay more than $16 million to settle an administrative action brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for violations of the books and records and internal control provisions of the FCPA. Conduct From 2003 to … Continue Reading
Armor Holdings, Inc., a military, security, and law enforcement equipment manufacturer, has agreed to pay a total of approximately $16 million to settle FCPA enforcement actions brought by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Conduct From 2001 to 2006, a subsidiary of Armor Holdings paid a third party (the … Continue Reading
It has been interesting to see the reactions around the world to the UK’s new Bribery Act 2010 (“Bribery Act”) which came into force earlier this month. Perhaps unsurprisingly, eyes have been on what the US has made of it given its long history in this area and the application of the Foreign Corrupt Practices … Continue Reading
In an unprecedented blow to the government’s assertion of jurisdiction under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), United States District Judge Richard Leon, presiding over the so-called Shot Show Sting cases, granted the Rule 29 acquittal motion of Defendant Pankesh Patel on the ground that the government could not establish that jurisdiction over “persons other … Continue Reading
Last week, Jorge Granados, former chief executive officer of Miami-based Latin Node, Inc. (Latinode) pleaded guilty to conspiring to pay bribes to government officials in Honduras. This is the latest chapter in the on-going saga of Latinode and its former executives who allegedly violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying bribes to officials … Continue Reading
For the first time in its history of bringing FCPA enforcement actions, the SEC has entered into a deferred-prosecution agreement with a corporate defendant, potentially signaling the start of a trend of tougher SEC action against alleged violators of the FCPA. Conduct Tenaris, a Luxembourg-based global steel pipe supplier and manufacturer, entered into a two-year … Continue Reading
Last week, corporate defendant Lindsey Manufacturing, Inc. (“Lindsey Manufacturing”) was convicted of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for allegedly bribing and conspiring to bribe representatives of a state-owned Mexican utility through a third party intermediary. The Department of Justice’s press release on the case can be found here. Conduct The Department of Justice … Continue Reading
As part of the strategy to put an end to corruption in Mexico, and within the scope of the 2007-2012 National Development Plan to strengthen security and the rule of law, President Felipe Calderon sent on March 2, 2011 the decree initiative amending and expanding various provisions of the Federal Law of Administrative Accountability of … Continue Reading
Flavio Ricotti, a former executive with Control Components, Inc. (“CCI”), has reached a settlement with the DOJ over charges for conspiring to violate the FCPA and the Travel Act. Conduct In 2009, CCI, a California-based valve company, pled guilty to a three-count criminal information that charged two counts of violating the antibribery provisions of the FCPA … Continue Reading
Rockwell Automation, Inc. (“Rockwell”), an industrial automation products and services provider, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, resolved an enforcement action in which the SEC alleged it violated the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions through the actions of its former China based subsidiary, Rockwell Automation Power Systems (Shanghai) Ltd. (“RAPS-China”), which was divested by … Continue Reading
Comverse Technologies Inc. (CTI), a New York based provider of software for communication and billing services, resolved Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions brought by the DOJ and SEC arising out of the acts of an indirectly owned overseas subsidiary and the subsidiary’s third party agent. CTI resolved the DOJ investigation via an NPA, … Continue Reading
In a sign of things to come, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and J&J wholly-owned subsidiaries Depuy, Inc. (DePuy) and DePuy International Limited (DePuy International) resolved corruption related investigations on both sides of the Atlantic on Friday, April 8. Conduct J&J, a New Jersey based issuer, resolved FCPA enforcement actions brought by the DOJ and SEC … Continue Reading
Squire Patton Boggs’ James Barresi writes that in April, the Securities and Exchange Commission plans to issue new regulations requiring companies to disclose whether their production utilizes “conflict minerals” from the Congo or an adjoining country. The SEC’s new rules may prove to be a headache for companies that use small amounts of conflict minerals … Continue Reading
Ball, an Indiana corporation based in Colorado that manufactures metal packaging for household goods, food and beverages, and provides aerospace and technological services, resolved an enforcement action in which the SEC alleged it violated the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions. Conduct The SEC alleged Ball, through a subsidiary, Formametal, S.A., acquired in … Continue Reading
IBM resolved an enforcement action brought by the SEC, which alleged the company violated the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions. SEC alleged IBM subsidiaries and an IBM join-venture made illicit payments and provided gifts, travel and entertainment to Chinese and South Korean government officials for improper purposes. IBM did not admit nor … Continue Reading
Not too long ago I was clicking through the greatly improved DOJ FCPA webpage when I stumbled onto an enforcement action that had flown under the anticorruption/compliance blogosphere’s radar. Yes, Manuel Salvoch had escaped the dreaded DOJ press release, but not the Fraud Section’s posting of documents for the world to see. It was only … Continue Reading
On Friday, March 11, Jeffrey Tesler, who had challenged extradition from the UK to the US, relented in his fight and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and one substantive violation of an FCPA antibribery provision. In 2009, the DOJ initially charged Tesler in an 11 count indictment consisting of … Continue Reading
In a recent post we analyzed the comments of Charles Duross, Deputy Chief, Fraud Section, Criminal Division, DOJ, at the ABA White Collar Crime annual conference. Today, we will summarize the comments of Duross’ fellow panelists — Robert Tarun, Mark Mendelsohn and Raphael Monty — all three of whom are in private practice. Tarun stated: … Continue Reading
With these words Charles Duross, Deputy Chief, Fraud Section, Criminal Division, Department of Justice – the country’s lead criminal prosecutor of FCPA – so began his comments at the recent American Bar Association White Collar Crime annual conference in San Diego, California. Duross characterized 2010 as “transformative” for the following reasons: Fraud Section Changes. Duross … Continue Reading
To date, the SEC has never charged a private equity firm for the inappropriate conduct of one of its portfolio companies (the DOJ has been involved in a few investigations: see Vetco International Ltd.; Omega Advisors; and, Leo Winston Smith). However, with recent news of both internal and external bribery-related investigations into Allianz Capital Partners … Continue Reading
Recently, we wrote about the 2010 enforcement environment. Today’s post looks forward to 2011 and some things to keep an eye out for in the coming year. Without further ado: Prosecutions of Individuals. In 2010 we saw a significant number of individuals prosecuted for FCPA and related violations. A number of defendants resolved their prosecutions … Continue Reading
We had a different post planned for today (one on trends to look for in 2011, which include international cooperation), but the ruling of London appeals court takes priority. According to Law360, a London appeals court decided Jeffrey Tesler, a UK lawyer charged by the DOJ with paying more than $132 million from a former … Continue Reading
