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
When the New Zealand Serious Fraud Office (SFO) summons you to attend an interview regarding an investigation of corporate misconduct, you may be surprised to learn SFO has the power to prevent your preferred counsel from accompanying you. In fact, many international regulatory bodies can exclude an attorney from the client’s compulsory interview. If a … Continue Reading
Rolls-Royce has agreed to pay £671 million in penalties in response to several long-running bribery and corruption investigations. Regulators in the UK, the United States and Brazil investigated claims that Rolls-Royce had paid bribes to intermediaries to secure high-value export contracts in a number of overseas markets, including China, Brazil and Indonesia. In a press … Continue Reading
On September 25 2015, Brand-Rex Limited, a Scottish network cabling company, entered into a civil settlement with the Scottish Crown Office, admitting that the company had failed to prevent bribery and had received an improper benefit in violation of Section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010, which applies to the whole of the United Kingdom. … Continue Reading
The United Kingdom’s regime against bribery, corruption and fraud is operating in a new landscape following the introduction in August 2015 of the International Corruption Unit (ICU), a new governmental agency created under the auspices of the Department for International Development (DFID). The latest step in the clampdown on nefarious business practices came as the … Continue Reading
In last month’s article about the first Deferred Prosecution Agreement secured by the SFO, we referred to another prosecution the outcome of which was awaited. Following the entry of a guilty plea to an offence under s.7(1)(b) of the Bribery Act 2010 in December 2015, the Sweett Group plc was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court … Continue Reading
Smith and Ouzman Ltd and two of its directors, were convicted by a Jury under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 (POCA) in December 2014, although the company was finally sentenced on 8 January 2016. The company was convicted under the previous legislation because the offences pre-dated the Bribery Act 2010. The small family run … Continue Reading
In September 2014, the new Attorney General, Jeremy Wright, revealed that the government was considering introducing a new offence of corporate failure to prevent economic crime, such as fraud and money laundering, similar to the corporate offence in the UK Bribery Act 2010 of an organisation failing to prevent bribery. In its UK Anti-Corruption Plan, … Continue Reading
Rolls-Royce, the world’s second largest aircraft engine maker, made a public announcement on the 6 December 2012 that it has provided information to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in relation to bribery and corruption activities that have taken place in Indonesia, China and other undisclosed overseas markets involving its intermediaries. In a statement released through … Continue Reading
Back in May, we reported that the new Director of the SFO had offered support to the US-style deferred prosecution agreements (“DPAs”). DPAs aim to make out-of-court settlements easier by allowing defendant companies to avoid criminal prosecution instead agreeing a series of conditions. These conditions usually including paying a civil penalty, handing back the profits … Continue Reading
In July 2009, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) issued a document entitled “Approach of the Serious Fraud Office Dealing with Overseas Corruption,” which encourages companies to approach the SFO to self report corruption in exchange for receiving a US-style plea bargain settlement, thus providing the company with certainty of outcome. However, in his white paper, … Continue Reading
