Episode 315 - Boeing Pays $51 Million for ITAR Violations
While 2023 was a relatively slow year in FCPA enforcement, the DOJ and SEC settlements announced throughout the year set out a list of important ethics and compliance reminders. While these may seem obvious to everyone, I...more
Albemarle Corporation (Albemarle), recently agreed to pay more than $218 million to resolve investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into violations of the...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission continues to rack up FCPA enforcement actions. In its latest settlement, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings agreed to pay $26.1 million for bribery violations committed by its former...more
The Department of Justice has been relatively quiet this year in bringing corporate FCPA enforcement actions and settlements. Aside from the Ericsson breach of its Deferred Prosecution Agreement, the Corficocolombiana...more
We always focus on foreign bribery — the FCPA and corporate bribery of foreign officials. It is certainly a problem that undermines economic development and human rights. ...more
The Justice Department continues to push an aggressive agenda against businesses. It is committed to demonstrating its resolve to prosecute companies and individuals from the business community. Whether it is antitrust,...more
Oracle’s SEC settlement for $23 million underscores the power of the FCPA provisions mandating effective internal controls and accurate books and records. As everyone knows, these provisions can be applied to a wide-range of...more
GOL’s bribery schemes present some interesting lessons. Interestingly, at the center of the bribery scheme was a member of GOL’s board of directors. The bribery scheme was motivated by potential legislation that would...more
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district judge’s post-conviction dismissal of FCPA counts against Lawrence Hoskins, a former Alston executive, for his involvement in bribery scheme to secure a $118 million...more
The SEC announced its first FCPA enforcement action in 2022. South Korean telecommunications company, KT Corporation, agreed to pay $6.3 million to settle FCPA violations. As part of the settlement, KT Corp. agreed to pay...more
After a long hiatus, the SEC announced a settlement with WPP plc, the world’s largest advertising group, for FCPA violations in India, China, Brazil and Peru for $19.2 million. The SEC’s resolution charges WPP with...more
In a surprising (but fully warranted) twist, the Justice Department returned an indictment against a former employee of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (“Ericsson”), a global telecommunications company, for his role in paying...more
Raymond Kohut, a 68-year old Canadian citizen, a former employee of Swiss commodities trader, Gunvor Group, Ltd., pleaded guilty to paying $22 million in bribes to Ecuadoran government officials at state-owned oil company,...more
Bear with me for a second, but remember Presidential Candidate Romney’s statement in 2011 that “Corporations are people.” Starting with that premise, my so-called “Person” of the Year award for 2020 goes to, drumroll . . ....more
DOJ and the SEC each had a great year in FCPA enforcement. But it is important to acknowledge that the blockbuster case, Goldman Sachs, was the driver of this successful year. ...more
In a coordinated enforcement action with the DOJ, the CFTC filed and simultaneously settled charges against Vitol Inc., the U.S. affiliate of one of the world’s largest energy trading firms. ...more
In a landmark action on December 3, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) announced resolution of its first enforcement action involving foreign corruption by issuing an order and settling charges against...more
The breadth of Goldman Sachs’ corruption in the recent DOJ and SEC FCPA enforcement action underscored the important global goal of reducing corruption. It goes without saying – corruption has a pernicious impact on economic...more
It would be a mistake to think that the $2.9 billion settlement Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has agreed to pay in order to resolve allegations of widespread bribes to government officials in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates...more
Goldman Sachs now sits atop all charts with the largest US FCPA bribery penalty, totaling approximately $2.9 billion. The second largest is Ericsson’s 2019 FCPA settlement for $1 billion....more
We all know it when we see it – a recurring fact pattern in which a company enlists a corrupt third party intermediary for one purpose (and one purpose only) – to pay a bribe. Let me give you a few examples....more
The Justice Department continues to pursue criminal cases against Venezuelan officials at Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) in an attempt to strangle President Nicolas Maduro. DOJ has been pursuing a three-pronged strategy...more
World Acceptance Corporation (“WAC”), a US-based consumer loan company, agreed to pay the SEC $21.7 million for FCPA violations in Mexico. WAC’s cited violations covered the full gamut of FCPA violations, including bribery...more
Over the past several blog posts, I have been exploring the Airbus SE (Airbus) international anti-corruption settlement in some depth. One of the questions I have had and hopefully raised for readers is not why the overall...more
Last week, Airbus SE (Airbus) settled a long-standing corruption scandal by agreeing to enforcement actions in three countries; France, the United Kingdom and the US. The matter involved a massive, worldwide, long running...more