Sometimes you enter with a bang, but leave with a whimper. That is what I thought when I read in early July that the Securities and Exchange Commission had dismissed its cases against two Noble Corp. executives, Mark Jackson and James Ruehlen. The case had drawn much fanfare and attention, as it was a very rare SEC action against individuals for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. But the case did not seem to turn out as the SEC had intended.
The SEC announced the enforcement action in February 2012, amid much fanfare. In its press release issued at the time of the initial court filing, the SEC claimed “that former Noble Corp. CEO Mark Jackson along with James Ruehlen, who is the current director and division manager of Noble’s subsidiary in Nigeria, bribed customs officials to process false paperwork purporting to show the export and re-import of oil rigs, when in fact the rigs never moved. The scheme was designed to save Noble from losing business and incurring significant costs associated with exporting rigs from Nigeria and then re-importing them under new permits. Bribes were paid through a customs agent for Noble’s Nigerian subsidiary with Jackson and Ruehlen’s approval.” These actions led to allegations that Jackson and Ruehlen directly violated the anti-bribery provisions, internal controls, and false records provisions relating to the FCPA. For all of these claims the SEC sought injunctive relief and monetary damages.
