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2011 Was a Banner Year for FCPA Enforcement and Trials

Editors — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:58:07 +0000

2011 was a record year for FCPA enforcement and trials – what will 2012 bring?

[via: 2011 Was a Banner Year for FCPA Enforcements and Trials at CorpCounsel]

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What Does the Lindsey Ruling Mean for the Future of FCPA?

Editors — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:30:25 +0000

Last week, U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz sent down a ruling that overturned the corruption convictions of Lindsey Manufacturing Co. executives, who had been accused by government prosecutors of participating in bribes that violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

[via: What Does the Lindsey Ruling Mean for the Future of FCPA? at CorpCounsel]

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Code of Conduct Dataset for In-House Counsel

Editors — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:35:07 +0000

Looking for a sample code of conduct? Or want to see how provisions of your code of conduct stack up against your peer companies? Check out the Ethisphere Institute’s new Code of Conduct Dataset (free registration required):

The Ethisphere Code of Conduct Dataset is an aggregation of code of conduct content and policies from the 500 largest corporations by revenue. The information contained in the dataset, which was collected between January 2011 and September 2011, breaks down key aspects and content areas within each code of conduct by 42 criteria. The online, searchable dataset contains and policies benchmarked by industry.
The dataset is designed to provide compliance officers with a centralized tool for reviewing peer practices in code development to improve their own codes of conduct.
Created in partnership between Ethisphere and attorneys Ryan D. McConnell, Katharine Southard, and Charlotte Simon.

[via Code of Conduct Dataset | Ethisphere™ Institute.]

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New FCPA Guidance..Coming Right Up!

Editors — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:32:59 +0000

In the world of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, defense lawyers labor over every detail of settlement agreements, looking for subtle markers laid down by the Justice Department and the SEC. It’s not like they have any case law to lean on. Bribery cases against companies settle. That’s a fact. If you want to know where the line between legitimate business expense and bribe falls, good luck finding it. What’s a facilitation payment? Who knows. When is a company “controlled” by a foreign government? Depends. Who qualifies as a foreign official? Factual question. Companies don’t know how to comply with the law — which bars bribery of foreign officials, in the simplest terms — because the government won’t tell them. OK, that’s an argument the defense bar has been making for years. And, honestly, Law Blog thinks it’s a bit much, but there is no doubt that more guidance is better. Which brings us, finally, to today’s news. The Justice Department is planning to release “detailed new guidance on the Act’s criminal and civil enforcement provisions” in 2012, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said Tuesday at the National Conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. in Washington, D.C., according to these prepared remarks. Breuer (pictured) said he hoped the guidance would amount to “a useful and transparent aid.” He gave no further details, but the announcement by itself is likely to cause a stir. “This is a big step,” Homer Moyer, a partner at the law firm Miller Chevalier who is chairing the conference, told WSJ’s Corruption Currents. Breuer, the head of the department’s Criminal Division, also used his speech to argue against efforts led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to make parts of the FCPA more business friendly. “Whether or not certain clarifications to the Act are appropriate, now is the time to ensure that the FCPA remains a strong tool for fighting the ill effects of transnational bribery,” Breuer said. “There is no argument for becoming more permissive when it comes to corruption.”

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Is Yet Another FCPA Sweep On the Way?

Editors — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:00:50 +0000

Defense, oil services, pharmaceutical, medical device and finance. These industries have this in common: They’ve all endured broad government investigations for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the world’s meanest anti-bribery law. Law Blog is wondering if their might be another sweep underway. Why? Because Aircraft manufacturer Embraer SA said Thursday that U.S. regulators are investigating whether the company paid bribes overseas. The Brazilian company said it had hired outside counsel in response to a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Embraer made the disclosure in its third-quarter results , marking the first time an aerospace company has revealed itself as the target an FCPA investigation since the FBI this summer notified federal agencies that it was taking a hard look at the industry. Bureau officials emphasized the agency’s interest in possible corruption in contracts between aircraft and parts makers and state-owned airlines, according to a person familiar with the matter. Plenty of defense companies have been scrutinized, but the the focus on commercial sales is new. Embraer supplies aircraft for the Brazilian Air Force and other armed forces, and sells commercial and executive jets. The company reported $3.8 billion in revenue for the first nine months of 2011, with commercial and executive sales accounting for about 84%. It isn’t clear whether the SEC probe is homing in on defense or commercial sales, or both. A company spokeswoman declined to comment. An SEC spokesman declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman for the Justice Department. In its filing, Embraer said it conducting an internal investigation of transactions in three countries and is “fully cooperating” with the SEC and Justice Department, which jointly enforce the anti-bribery law. Embraer “is unable to predict duration, scope or results of the investigation,” the earnings statement said.

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Anti-Bribery Tool Tracks Corporate Gift-Giving

Law.com — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 06:15:20 +0000

Is giving a bottle of wine a bribe? What if it goes to a government official in China? A new anti-bribery tool from TRACE International, Inc. aims to keep corporate gifts on the up-and-up.

[via: TRACE Anti-Bribery Tool Tracks Corporate Gift-Giving at CorpCounsel]

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Secret Agents Causing FCPA Violations

Law.com — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:48:57 +0000

If your company has ever obtained official documents in Nigeria, ‘touts’ have likely paid cash to government officials on your behalf. And with or without your knowledge, touts may have lead to FCPA violations.

[via: From the Experts: Secret Agents Causing FCPA Violations at CorpCounsel]

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Oracle – Another World’s Most Ethical FCPA Violator?

Editors — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:30:26 +0000

Another FCPA investigation in the works:

Yesterday, Joe Palazzolo and Samuel Rubenfeld broke the story in the Wall Street Journal, “U.S. Probes Oracle Dealings,” that “U.S. authorities are investigating whether Oracle Corp., one of the world’s largest software companies by sales, violated federal antibribery laws in its dealings abroad …”…According to the report, “the agencies are examining whether Oracle employees or agents acting on the company’s behalf made improper payments in Africa in order to land sales of database and applications software.”
Time will tell whether the Oracle investigation will lead to an FCPA enforcement action and, if so, the nature and extent of the improper conduct. If the investigation follows a pattern often seen in FCPA enforcement actions, the improper conduct will have been engaged in by non-executive employees or agents who acted contrary to the company’s FCPA policies and procedures and the company’s otherwise good faith efforts to comply with the FCPA.

[via Oracle – Another World’s Most Ethical FCPA Violator? « FCPA Professor.]

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The Globalization of Anti-Corruption Law

Editors — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:48:14 +0000

Today’s post at the FCPA Professor is from Juliet S. Sorensen, a Clinical Assistant Professor of Law at Northwestern University, where her teaching and research interests include international criminal law and corruption.

[via The Globalization of Anti-Corruption Law « FCPA Professor.]

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Firms Chase White-Collar Defense Work in Asia as U.S. Investigations Persist

Editors — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 22:48:06 +0000

While federal prosecutors in the U.S. are pursuing dozens of cases under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in an effort to root out bribery in Asia and beyond, law firms are beefing up practices to advise clients who can face millions of dollars in fines to resolve claims of wrongdoing.

[via: Firms Chase White-Collar Defense Work in Asia as U.S. Investigations Persist at the ABA Journal]

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10 Big FCPA Compliance Tips for Small Legal Departments

Law.com — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 07:26:36 +0000

As more business operations and transactions continue to cross international borders, the ability of a law department to understand and apply the laws of different countries becomes increasingly important. But the crucial starting point for U.S. companies doing business overseas is right at home: the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, which sets strict guidelines for anti-bribery and accounting in trans-national settings.

[via 10 Big FCPA Compliance Tips for Small Legal Departments.]

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A Criminal First: Company Convicted of Foreign Bribery

Editors — Thu, 12 May 2011 11:08:53 +0000

The WSJ reports that a new, ominous milestone has been reached in foreign-bribery prosecutions: a company has been criminally convicted for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

[via A Criminal First: Company Convicted of Foreign Bribery

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In-House Counsel Assist in Preparing “Best Practices in Preventing Fraud and Corruption in a Global Business” by LexMundi

Editors — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:49:28 +0000

Hot off the presses is LexMundi’s latest publication which should be of interest to corporate counsel in global companies:

Responding to the challenges confronting corporate legal departments today in ensuring global anti-corruption compliance, Lex Mundi has compiled and published Best Practices in Preventing Fraud and Corruption in a Global Business. Developed by Lex Mundi member firms around the globe, in collaboration with in-house counsel and members of the Lex Mundi Client Advisory Council, Best Practices in Preventing Fraud and Corruption in a Global Business provides practical suggestions and steps to enable corporations and their law firm advisors to work together to develop effective compliance programs to avoid, detect and remedy wrongdoing, especially fraud and corruption.

Download the guide at Lex Mundi Publishes Best Practices in Preventing Fraud and Corruption in a Global Business.

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Beware Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Traps

Law.com — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:18:37 +0000

Companies in the United States often undertake extensive promotional activities to market and sell their products throughout the world. These efforts can include paying the expenses for customers to travel to company facilities. But there is the potential that the payments will run afoul of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Attorneys Richard M. Strassberg and Kyle A. Wombolt discuss recent FCPA enforcement action involving promotional expenditures and outline some compliance best practices.

Beware Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Traps

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