The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) quietly released updated guidance on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) before the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Entitled A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Second Edition[1] (“Guide”), the Guide is the first update to the original document published … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an update to its earlier guidance on how the DOJ will evaluate the effectiveness of a company’s corporate compliance program. The updated compliance guideline (“Updated Guidance”) is twice the length of the original, and utilizes a more instructive approach, serving as a roadmap to prosecutors, and prudent companies. Although … Continue Reading
The Second Circuit’s recent decision in United States v. Hoskins may impact enforcement of U.S. economic sanctions programs. The Hoskins decision precludes the government from charging a foreign national acting abroad with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) through theories of conspiracy and accomplice liability. This holding is equally applicable to U.S. sanctions law.… Continue Reading
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a False Claims Act (FCA) settlement with Kmart Corporation for $32.3 million. The settlement is part of a global $59 million settlement; the relator will receive $9.3 million. Former Kmart Employee Filed the Qui Tam James Garbe, the relator, was employed by Kmart as a pharmacist from 2007 until … Continue Reading
A recent decision discusses a corporate “C” plea not being good enough for a federal judge. The case involves a pharmaceutical company trying to negotiate a specific sentence with prosecutors. The judge’s analysis follows below after a short background about a C plea. Types of Guilty Pleas Federal Criminal Rule 11(c)(1) governs plea agreement procedure. It includes a limitation: “The court must not participate … Continue Reading
For the past few years, the SEC has been battling challenges to the constitutionality of its administrative proceedings. Today, in a drastic shift in position, the SEC issued an order ratifying its prior appointment of its five sitting Administrative Law Judges (“ALJs”) to remedy what the SEC now seemingly concedes was an unconstitutional hiring process. … 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
Summary of Compliance Guideline The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) has released guidance on how the DOJ will determine the effectiveness of a company’s corporate compliance program. The guidance, entitled Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs[1] (the “Compliance Guideline”), provides examples of topics and sample questions that are frequently … 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
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
