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 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
Tariffs are not the only weapon of retaliation countries may wield in a trade war. Governments can pressure trade adversaries at the bargaining table by opening other fronts, such as limiting foreign investment, halting drug enforcement cooperation, or, of particular concern to the corporate world, scrutinizing companies doing business within their jurisdictions. What does this mean?… Continue Reading
Facilitation payments are no longer exempt under Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act. On October 30, 2017, Global Affairs Canada, which manages diplomatic relations and promotes international trade, announced the end of the exemption. This change was initiated in 2013 but delayed to give companies time to adjust their policies and procedures. Effective October … 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
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
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) The Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in the Trial of Criminal Cases … 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. New Law or Regulations State level: (1) Regulations on the Management of Governmental Affairs On July 9, the Chinese Sate Council promulgated the new … Continue Reading
On July 17, 2012, Nordam Group, Inc. (“Nordam”) an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (“MRO”) service provider based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, entered into a three-year non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the DOJ to resolve violations of the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions. Conduct According to the NPA, from 1999 until 2008, Nordam, its subsidiaries and affiliates paid bribes … Continue Reading
Orthofix International N.V. (“Orthofix”) entered into a consent to final judgment with the SEC and a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ to resolve FCPA violations by its Mexican subsidiary. Although the DOJ enforcement action involved a criminal information which remains sealed until a plea is entered in open court, the deferred prosecution agreement indicates … Continue Reading
On July 6, 2012, Patrick Joseph was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, and ordered to forfeit $955,596.69, for his role in the Haiti Teleco bribery scheme. Joseph, a former Director General for telecommunications at the Republic of Haiti’s state-owned national telecommunications company, Telecommunications D’Haiti (Haiti Teleco), had been charged with one … Continue Reading
The Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission have stressed the need for companies to conduct FCPA due diligence before entering into transactions with third parties or buying another company. The DOJ and SEC have levied stiff fines on companies that have not heeded their advice once violations of the FCPA have been discovered. … Continue Reading
Paul Cosgrove, the former head of worldwide sales at California-based valve manufacturer Control Components Inc. (CCI) pleaded guilty yesterday to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Cosgrove is the fourth of six company executives to plead guilty to violating or conspiring to violate the FCPA. Cosgrove was previously scheduled to stand trial on June … Continue Reading
2011 was another banner year for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiating 23 and 25 enforcement actions, respectively, and collecting nearly $355 million and $148 million in fines. Numerous individual defendants were prosecuted under the FCPA, some successfully, and some not … Continue Reading
On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld Frederic Bourke’s bribery conviction. This decision is the culmination of investigations and court proceedings that began in 2000. Mr. Bourke, who co-founded handbag maker Dooney & Bourke, was convicted in November 2009 for violations under the FCPA after his business partner Viktor Kozeny … Continue Reading
Back in May, we brought you news of the first Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) jury verdict rendered against a corporate defendant in the case of Lindsey Manufacturing, Inc. (“Lindsey Manufacturing”), which stood accused of bribing and conspiring to bribe representatives of a state-owned Mexican utility through a third party intermediary. A jury convicted Lindsey … Continue Reading
As detailed in a previous blog post, a federal jury convicted Joel Esquinazi and Carlos Rodriguez, two former executives of Terra Telecommunications Corp. (“Terra”), earlier this year 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). Federal District Judge Jose … 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
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
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
With the last member of the infamous TSKJ joint-venture resolving FCPA charges this week, has the DOJ finally closed the door on its very lucrative Bonny Island investigation? JGC, a Japanese company headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, resolved an FCPA enforcement action brought by the DOJ concerning JGC’s participation in the Bonny Island, Nigeria, bribery scheme. … Continue Reading
Squire Sanders‘ 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 and … Continue Reading
