FCPA

Though broad in scope, the Biden Administration's plan to counter domestic and international corruption follows four primary lines of effort. A series of related proposals for rule-making conclude their comment period in February. Business leaders have the opportunity to respond to both in advance of enforcement. 

The arduous process of FCPA compliance requires risk teams to digest and cross-reference a morass of information – from internal data analysis to human representatives collecting interviews on the ground. Diligence failures can bring about both enforcements and missed opportunities. As U.S. authorities, namely the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), state in their...

2022 will probably be a lot like 2021, only more so. With most key federal positions filled, the Biden Administration is in a position to ramp up enforcement over the next twelve months. A rundown of top white-collar crime enforcement issues from 2021 informs the enforcement trends we expect to see more of in 2022.

A new sheriff is in town, at least when it comes to combatting corruption, according to an analysis by international law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed. In the New York-based law firm’s annual alert devoted to the state of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations and anti-bribery investigations, its chief contributors expect enforcement to surge in 2022. The 153-page alert...

Credit Suisse agreed to pay $547 million to resolve a bribery and fraud scheme involving investments and financing arrangements for $850 million loan for the EMATUM tuna fishing operation. The fallout has dealt the Mozambique economy a crippling blow. Credit Suisse Group AG, a global financial institution, and its London-based European subsidiary, Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited (CSSEL) on October...

DOJ says scheme involved diverting millions from company into slush fund and paying bribes to Brazilian government officials, political parties and others. A Brazilian man who previously served as the chief executive officer of Braskem S.A., a publicly traded Brazilian petrochemical company, was sentenced Oct. 13 in the Eastern District of New York to 20 months in prison for a...

WPP plc grew in to the world's largest advertising agency, in part, by acquiring thousands of subsidiaries. While it found success leveraging the expertise of these acquisitions, it was unsuccessful in establishing a culture of compliance among them.

A former Ericsson employee allegedly employed "financial sleight-of-hand involving a sham consulting contract, a false due-diligence report, and fake invoices" to conceal a bribe to Djiboutian government officials. The DOJ broke with previous practices in indicting him personally. In a surprising (but fully warranted) twist, the Justice Department returned an indictment on September 8 against a former employee of Telefonaktiebolaget...

Doing business in Nigeria presents manifold challenges. But in terms of hurdles to clear, the regulations imposed by the FCPA are easily the most significant. Abuja-based Uchechi Dibiaezue lays out the dance steps below. Tap Compliance to Stave Off FCPA Violations The lapses in governance and administration in Nigeria has created opportunities for systematic corruption and shapes the way business...

Published earlier this summer, the Engel List identifies over 50 prominent politicians and business people living in the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The move signals a renewed focus by the Justice Department in the region. On July 1, 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a report listing 55 individuals suspected of corruption and antidemocratic...

Foster Wheeler has recently settled a long-standing corruption investigation regarding the use of Unaoil to pay bribes to secure business. Tom Fox details the corruption allegations and outlines takeaways for the compliance practitioner, specifically around the FCPA penalties the company incurred, the internal controls (or, rather, the lack thereof) that allowed the corruption to fester and Foster Wheeler's due diligence...

Per the DOJ and SEC, “successor liability applies to all kinds of criminal and civil liabilities, and FCPA violations are no exception.” Here, experts discuss implications for corporate liability in the parent-subsidiary and M&A contexts.