Anti-Bribery

Britain’s ambitious U.K. Anti-Corruption Plan addresses everything from emboldened enforcement agencies to sharper criminal liability, but critics have jumped on one weakness: the plan’s mandate for a public register of beneficial ownership omits the housing market. Given the multitude of luxury homes in London owned by overseas trusts, that’s problematic, they say. Government spokesmen say the government will consider expanding the register, and warn that the battle against corruption won’t be won “overnight.”

Transparency advocates are giving tempered praise to a new anti-money laundering regime proposed this month by representatives of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. The new rules would mandate that member states create centralised registers of beneficial ownership behind companies, but outsiders such as journalists or non-governmental groups would need to prove “legitimate interest” before seeing that data. More inside.

Image: The appellate court decision to overturn insider-trading convictions of two Wall Streeters brings clarity to some aspects of the crime. It does not, however, reduce insider-trading risks. Yes, the ruling narrows the scope of such offenses, but “a compliance officer would have to be out of his mind to tell the organization that there has been a lightening of standards regarding liability,” says Richard Spinogatti of the law firm Proskauer Rose.

Image: French power and transportation giant Alstom SA agreed Monday to pay $772 million to settle criminal violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, setting a record for largest FCPA settlement ever. Deputy Attorney General James Cole called Alstom’s misconduct “astounding in its breadth, its brazenness and its worldwide consequences,” involving bribes to government officials around the world. Alstom’s U.S. subsidiaries will work under deferred-prosecution agreements.

Scotland-based oil and gas services company International Tubular Services, a subsidiary of Parker Drilling, last week agreed to pay a £170,000 ($267,000) fine to Scotland’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s civil recovery unit to resolve charges that a former Kazakhstan-based employee paid bribes to secure contract work from a customer in that country. Details inside.

Scientific instruments manufacturer Bruker will pay a $2.4 million penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve charges of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by providing non-business related travel and improper payments to various Chinese government officials in an effort to win business. Details inside.

A report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Working Group on Bribery says it has “grave concerns” about Argentina’s commitment to fight foreign bribery. Argentina has no law to punish companies for foreign bribery or prosecute individuals who commit the crime abroad, the report says. Delays plague economic crime investigations and executive contact with judges and prosecutors threatens their independence.

Image: Dec. 17—After years of grappling with corruption allegations against international sports federations based within their borders, Swiss lawmakers have passed a measure to criminalize corruption in sports and add sports federation heads to the definition of politically exposed persons facing enhanced scrutiny from banks. Swiss legislator Roland Büchel, who spearheaded the FIFA law, said, “It sends a clear message to the world that officials must accept responsibility.” More inside.

Analogic, an airport security and medical-imaging technology provider, has disclosed that it’s likely to face sanctions by the Department of Justice and SEC for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The potential sanctions concern certain questionable transactions involving Analogic’s Danish subsidiary BK Medical and certain of its foreign distributors. Details inside.

Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras has created a new position of executive director of governance, risk, and compliance. The move comes as the company faces several investigations for its involvement in a widespread money-laundering scandal.