The Man From FCPA

The Man From FCPA ponders the FCPA considerations of electric-car company Tesla putting the squeeze on its suppliers by asking them to refund monies Tesla had paid to them, as far back as 2016.

Under the FCPA  there must be more than simple communication of instructions to not engage in bribery and corruption. Yet, FIFA only wagged its finger and said “do not engage.” Makes one wonder if the organization is actually ready to change.

The will to continue the fight against institutional corruption in Brazil may be waning. From the perspective of The Man From FCPA, it appears that it is the beginning of the end for the seismic change that has come over the country starting with Operation Car Wash.

Judge Stanley Sporkin’s foresight in enacting the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the correct manner is a big reason behind why there is a large amount of confidence in U.S. companies.

When it comes to brassiness, one really cannot do much better than FIFA. After having survived one of the world's greatest scandals, the international governing body of football is replacing the leadership of its ethics committee, in effect dismissing the judge and the prosecutor whose investigations resulted in the suspensions of those parties involved in the corruption.

A look at corruption in Uganda and the government’s fear that the high level of corruption is making life worse for citizens and driving out foreign investment.

A venture capitalist, a former United States federal prosecutor, and an Olympic gold medalist have formed a non-profit foundation, Fair Sport, to help mitigate risk for whistleblowers in the wide, wide world of sports.

The past year was particularly bad for Korean electronics giant Samsung, and it looks like 2017 has gotten off to the same rough start. Tom Fox looks at the recent arrest of Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, on charges of bribery, embezzlement, and perjury. 

A guilty verdict that sent the brother-in-law of the King of Spain to jail for fraud could signal that Spain is getting serious about corruption. Tom Fox says it was the first time a member of the Spanish royal family had been forced to stand trial, a move widely applauded by the Spanish public.

‘When one plank of the fight against bribery and corruption’ falters, the media steps in. Tom Fox looks at the press’s role in fighting crime.

The Man From FCPA Tom Fox explores what happens when a company’s foundation is shaky and illegal.

What does the Romanian people's revolt against igovernment's proposal to decriminalize bribery and corruption within the country mean on a larger scale? The Man From FCPA Tom Fox says they have earned the right to say to Washington: “the whole world is watching.”

While the FCPA makes clear it prohibits providing anything of value to a foreign governmental official, who’s to say what has value? For U.S. officials, it could be jewelery, cash, or sports tickets. But for Chinese executives, it could be something more exotic, say ... crocodile meat? Tom Fox has more on what value means under the regulation.

Tom Fox looks at Mexico’s struggle to turn itself around, beginning with a political discussion and the introduction of FCPA-like anti-corruption regulation. Is it a turning point or a false start?

Tom Fox looks at scandals involving Swedish business empire Industrivärden and Apple that point to an increasing need for good compliance programs in an age of corruption and social media.

Tom Fox looks at how Foreign Corrupt Practices Act compliance promotes multiple corporate stakeholders.

“Death by PowerPoint” is a typical description of really poor presentation technique, but it might just be a way to describe how some companies accidentally self-report their own corruption. Tom Fox has more.

When the DoJ speaks, chief compliance officers should listen—especially when the talks center on enforcement. The agency has launched a pilot program for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement that details three areas of self-disclosure to be required by companies going forward. If a company meets all three areas, it could look forward to a 50 percent discount toward penalties. Tom Fox has full disclosure inside.

Trouble seems to follow Japan-based Olympus. The company, which admitted in 2011 to a $1.7 billion accounting fraud, is once again facing corruption allegations. Olympus hired China-based Anyuanto to help turn it around, despite the fact that Anyuan’s chairman had previously been convicted of fraud; Olympus’ contract wasn’t with Anyuan directly; and Olympus made $180,000 in payments upfront for “unspecified services.” So far an internal probe has turned up nothing interesting. We’ll have to wait to see what regulators uncover.

As billionaire construction magnate Marcelo Odebrecht prepares to turn state’s evidence in the corruption investigation that covers Petrobras, Odebrecht SA, and the Brazilian presidency itself, it seems that we might finally get some insight on just how pervasive Brazil’s  so-called “cartel of corruption” really was. Is anybody ready to handle the truth?

Envelopes stuffed with cash and entire industries poised to take action against the first sign of whistleblowing are just two of the hallmarks of the endemic corruption that bedevils the entire Greek economy. What can be done when compliance isn’t just absent in a country, but actively avoided as a matter of tradition?

A recent Financial Times article says that non-U.S. corruption scandals have outpaced those which are U.S.-centric and, FT points out, the companies at the heart of these scandals fared pretty badly from their own transgressions. Inside, FCPA blogger Tom Fox examines the cases of Volkswagen, whose emissions fraud has caused the company’s share price to drop more than 30 percent; iconic Japanese entity Toshiba’s $1.3 billion accounting scandal; and Swedish company Industrivärden, whose perquisite scandal has decimated the board of directors. All of this and no mention of FIFA. What will 2016 bring? 

The scope of the Petrobras corruption scandal is literally worldwide. Now, reports the Financial Times,  Rolls Royce has become embroiled in the Brazilian national energy company’s “Operation Car Wash” snafu (dubbed so because the investigation literally started with a car wash), and is currently under investigation by the British Serious Fraud Office for bribery. Now is the time for European chief compliance officers doing business in Brazil to learn from the scandal and, hopefully, come out ahead, says CW FCPA blogger Tom Fox. More of his thoughts inside.

Another corrupt scandal hit the United Nations recently. The claim was made that a former General Assembly president had engaged in receiving bribes and other corruption from a Chinese businessman (and perhaps others). Other than yet another embarrassment for the United Nations, the allegations are nothing unusual so far. What was was the response by the United Nations. The Man From FCPA, Tom Fox, has more.

One thing that critics of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act constantly flail is the (alleged) lack of individual prosecutions under the law. Perhaps naming and shaming individuals responsible for actual FCPA violations would get word to the business community to take anti-corruption more seriously.