Anti-Bribery

Rheinmetall AG, a German-based auto parts maker and defense contractor, disclosed in a statement this week that one of its subsidiaries, Rheinmetall Defense Electronics, reached a $46 million settlement with German prosecutors to resolve allegations of bribery. Details inside.

Dallas Airmotive, a provider of aircraft engine maintenance, repair and overhaul services, has reached a $14 million settlement with the Department of Justice to resolve criminal charges over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The settlement resolves charges that Dallas Airmotive bribed government officials in Latin America in order to secure lucrative government contracts. Details inside.

Compliance officers wondering how their peers manage third-party risks and where they focus due diligence efforts these days will want to take a look at a new report on those practices. Enhanced due diligence firm Arachnys studied where large companies perform due diligence research, and offered a peek at the findings to Compliance Week. One surprise: how high the United States ranks as a difficult country to research. More inside.

Image: Title: UgazDec. 3—Denmark took the top honor in the watchdog group Transparency International’s annual corruption perceptions index, ranking the cleanest of the 176 global economies reviewed. Denmark also tied for first place in last year’s index. Overall, more than two-thirds of the countries fell below a score of 50, which included Turkey, with one of the biggest drops this year. “Countries at the bottom need to adopt radical anti-corruption measures in favor of their people. Countries at the top should make sure they don’t export corrupt practices to underdeveloped countries,” TI Chair José Ugaz said. More inside.

Turkey, Angola, and China are just a few countries that fared worst than last year in Transparency International’s 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index released today. The United States placed 17th, up two spots from its 2013 ranking. The last three years mark an improvement from the 2011 TI index, when the United States ranked 24th. Details inside.

Image: Title: FullerDec. 4—The U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office has made some progress in fixing issues with staffing training, resource levels, and how it investigates complex cases, but more work needs to be done, according to a report from Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate. “There has been genuine commitment from managers and staff alike to review and update processes and structures and to improve every aspect of case handling, from intelligence gathering and analysis to casework management and disclosure handling,” Chief Inspector Michael Fuller said. More inside.

A report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development reveals that the number of sanctions against companies and individuals for the bribery of foreign government officials appears to be declining. According to the report, 42 foreign bribery cases concluded last year, significantly lower than the 78 foreign bribery cases resolved in 2011, and 68 in 2010. Details inside.

One year after paying more than $398 million to U.S. prosecutors for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Total S.A. is expected to face new corruption charges, this time in France. In announcing the settlement last year, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Mythili Raman said the Total case marks the “first coordinated action by French and U.S. law enforcement in a major foreign bribery case.” Details inside.