The Securities and Exchange Commission has named Charles Cain chief of the Enforcement Division's national specialized Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit that focuses on violations of the anti-bribery provisions of the federal securities laws.

Since April 2017, Cain has served as Acting Chief of the FCPA Unit leading all aspects of the Enforcement Division's national enforcement of the FCPA. Prior to being appointed Acting Chief of the FCPA Unit, Cain served as the Deputy Chief of the Unit since 2011. 

In 2013, Cain received the Irving R. Pollack Award recognizing his scholarship and professional expertise in co-authoring the Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act setting forth a detailed analysis of the FCPA and providing insight into SEC and U.S. Department of Justice enforcement practices.

"Our anti-corruption program under our Foreign Corrupt Practices Unit remains a top priority for the Enforcement Division," said Steven Peikin, co-director of the SEC's Enforcement Division. "Charles 'wrote the book' on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and his strong leadership ensures that the great work of the FCPA Unit continues."

With over 15 years of experience investigating FCPA matters, Cain has spearheaded numerous significant and complex FCPA investigations during his tenure. In addition to his broader oversight roles in past six years, he also directly supervised several matters such as the investigations that led to charges against:

Sweden-based telecommunications provider Telia Company AB, which agreed to pay $965 million in a global settlement, along with the Justice Department and Dutch and Swedish law enforcement, to resolve FCPA charges to win business in Uzbekistan;

Dutch telecommunications provider VimpelCom, which agreed to pay more than $795 million in a global settlement, along with Justice Departmentand Dutch regulators, to resolve FCPA violations to win business in Uzbekistan; and

Hungary telecommunications provider Magyar Telecom, and three of its former top executives with bribing government and political party officials in Macedonia and Montenegro to win business and shut out competition in the telecommunications industry. 

Magyar and its parent company, Deutsche Telekom, agreed to settle the charges in a global resolution with the Justice Department, under which Magyar paid $90.8 million and Deutsche Telkom paid $4.36 million. After significant litigation, earlier this year, Magyar's former executives agreed to pay penalties and accept officer-and-director bars to settle the SEC's charges.

Cain joined the SEC in 1999 following private practice in Washington, D.C.  He began supervising investigations in 2004, and was promoted to Assistant Director in 2007. When the Enforcement Division created the national specialized units in 2010, he joined the FCPA Unit as an Assistant Director.

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