Two long-standing FCPA investigations—one into Avon, the other into Alstom—wrapped up in December, with results sure to alarm any audit committee. The fines were huge, the investigation costs just as large and, above all, the costs of non-cooperation were demonstrated to be painfully high. Inside, Compliance Week columnist Tom Fox picks through the wreckage for lessons you can take back to your compliance operation.
Tom Fox
Thomas Fox has practiced law for over 40 years. Tom writes the daily award-winning blog, the FCPA Compliance and Ethics blog and founded the Compliance Podcast Network. Tom leads the discussion on AI in compliance through his best-selling book Upping Your Game. He has 38 other books on the use of AI in compliance and business ethics, leadership including the seminal work, The Compliance Handbook, with its 7th edition coming out in 2025. He is the founder of the award-winning Compliance Podcast Network.
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Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Janus, COSO, FCPA Compliance and Enforcement
The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines have long been one path to kinder treatment from the Justice Department for FCPA violations. On the civil side enforced by the SEC, something similar may be emerging: the COSO 2013 framework for effective internal control. How different are those two paths? Not as much as you might think, Compliance Week columnist Tom Fox writes. Then again, regulators can follow clear paths too. More inside.
Posted inAnti-Bribery
How Layne Christensen and Hewlett-Packard Earned Favorable Treatment After an FCPA Charge
When Layne Christensen, a global water management and construction company, and tech pioneer Hewlett-Packard were targeted for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, they both escaped harsh punishments by cooperating with enforcement authorities. Their actions serve as a how-to for earning cooperation credit. Inside, columnist Tom Fox runs down their efforts, from conducting thorough internal investigations to taking extensive remediation measures.
Posted inAnti-Bribery
For FCPA Compliance, Don’t Forget the Internal Controls
They have been there all along, hiding in plain sight: the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act requirements for internal controls. The problem is that most compliance practitioners have not been reading them too carefully. What are internal controls in a FCPA compliance program? Aaron Murphy, a partner at Akin Gump and author of “Foreign Corrupt Practices […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Bieber Case Highlights Dangers of Facilitation Payments
If there was ever an example of the insidious nature of bribery and corruption of foreign government officials, it is how pop star Justin Bieber gained entry into Canada for his entourage. It is not that Canadian border guards allowed The Bieb himself into Canada for a little something extra; he is, after all, a […]
Posted inAnti-Bribery
Delaware’s Walmart Ruling Has Consequences Big and Small
Shareholder derivative actions are beginning to play a greater role in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement. They are also spurring some companies to make changes to their FCPA compliance programs. In 2011, for example, SciClone Pharmaceuticals settled a shareholder derivative action based on FCPA allegations in which it agreed to institute a wide-ranging anti-corruption compliance […]
Posted inAnti-Bribery
SEC Settles Out With Noble Executives
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 […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Esquenazi Decision Provides a Little More Clarity on FCPA
Last month, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ground-breaking decision on a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case that will have lasting effects and provides some clarity on the definition of an important aspect of the law—what constitutes a “foreign official.” In an opinion released on May 16, the court upheld the convictions of […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
How to Lessen the Chances of Acquiring an FCPA Headache
When a company buys another with past, but unsettled, bribery and corruption problems, does the liability flow through to the purchaser? Is there any way to limit the exposure? The ongoing news about a possible GE merger or purchase of all or certain businesses of the French power and engineering company Alstom SA has raised […]
Posted inAnti-Bribery
In Praise of FCPA Opinion Releases
One of the least-read sections of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is the section entitled, “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Opinion Procedure.” This section allows companies to seek an opinion from the Department of Justice “as to whether certain specified, prospective—not hypothetical—conduct conforms” to the Justice Department’s current enforcement policy on the FCPA. It is […]
