All FCPA articles – Page 28
-
Blog
Alstom Sentenced to Pay $772 Million FCPA Fine
U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton of the District of Connecticut has sentenced French power and transportation giant Alstom to pay a record $772 million criminal penalty to the Department of Justice to resolve charges over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The sentence marks the largest criminal fine ...
-
Blog
Drop in 2015 DOJ FCPA Settlements -- 'Sea Change' or Meaningless?
So far in 2015, the Justice Department has settled just two corporate Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases—notably lower than the 10 in 2014, nine in 2013, and 11 in 2012. According to the Wall Street Journal, the decline is due to a “sea change” in the Justice Department’s foreign ...
-
Blog
Crawford & Company Self-Reports FCPA Investigation
Crawford & Company said yesterday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has launched an internal investigation into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The claims management company also said it has voluntarily self-reported the potential FCPA violations to the SEC and the Department ...
-
Blog
Leniency in Petrobras Scandal Means Decision on Self-Disclosure
As the Petrobras corruption scandal moves to the investigation of international companies that did business with the Brazilian national energy company, Europeans companies now face some challenging decisions around the issue of self disclosure. Our Man From FCPA, Tom Fox, has more inside about the considerations you need to make.
-
Blog
Yates Memo, D&O Coverage, and the Coverage Gap
One consequence of the Yates Memo that has not received as much attention is whether current directors-and-officers liability insurance provides appropriate insurance coverage for the legal expenses incurred by executives who might go through an internal investigation. The answer may well be no; Tom Fox has more inside.
-
Blog
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Discloses FCPA Probe
Alexion Pharmaceuticals said this week in a securities filing that it is being investigated by the Department of Justice concerning potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. As previously disclosed, Alexion received a subpoena in May in connection with an investigation by the SEC’s Enforcement Division “requesting information related ...
-
Blog
Bristol-Myers Squibb Dodges Criminal FCPA Enforcement
Image: Last week Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that the Justice Department has decided to prosecute the company for a criminal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. When you look at the facts of the misconduct, a declination seems a bit far-fetched, but our Man From FCPA, Tom Fox, takes a closer look at ...
-
Blog
The UN, Corruption, and Internal Investigations
Image: 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. ...
-
Blog
Justice Department Ends Bristol-Myers Squibb FCPA Probe
The Department of Justice has ended its investigation into allegations that pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Earlier this month the company reached a $14 million settlement with the SEC for FCPA violations relating to certain sales and marketing practices in China. More inside.
-
Blog
SEC: First-of-Their-Kind Actions Take the Spotlight in 2015
The Securities and Exchange Commission continued to build a strong record of first-of-their-kind cases that spanned the spectrum of the securities industry, according to the agency’s fiscal year 2015 enforcement report. The SEC filed 807 enforcement actions, obtaining approximately $4.2 billion in disgorgement and penalties—an increase from the 755 enforcement ...
-
Blog
Sticky Situation: Ill-Gotten Gains From FCPA Violations
Image: One of the continuing myths around FCPA enforcement is so-called “springing liability,” where a company that acquires a business also acquires a FCPA violation along with the purchase. That is not an accurate understanding of the issue, our anti-corruption blogger Tom Fox writes. But it does touch on issues ...
-
Blog
Cost of Corruption: Now the Short-Sellers Are Here
The costs of corruption come in many forms, not the least being painfully high penalties from regulators and lawsuits from unhappy shareholders. Now a new front has opened: Muddy Waters, a short-seller firm pressuring Swedish telecom company TeliaSonera, is accusing it of bribery in central Asia—and benefitting as the stock ...
-
Blog
How Will Schrems Ruling Affect FCPA Compliance in Europe?
Image: The Schrems decision last week invalidated the safe harbor provision that let U.S. companies ferry personal data back and forth from Europe. Already compliance officers are beginning to sweat the implications of that ruling for anti-corruption programs. First likely headache: hotline data. Tom Fox, our Man From FCPA, has ...
-
Blog
Is FIFA Getting Serious About Ethics Reform?
FIFA seems to be getting serious about the perception that its organization is rife with corruption. Last week it suspended three of its top officials, including President Sepp Blatter. Those suspensions come one week after major sponsors demanded FIFA take action. Our Man From FCPA, Tom Fox, has more inside.
-
Blog
Double Trouble in Internal Investigations After Schrems
Image: Last week another huge shift in the compliance world happened: the Schrems decision by the European Court of Justice, finding that the previously presumed European Union Safe Harbor regime is invalid. For the anti-corruption compliance practitioner, the decision is double-trouble when you consider it in light of the recent ...
-
Blog
Update on the Petrobras Corruption Scandal
This week one commentator reported that the Netherlands-based SBM Offshore would pay $255 million in fines and penalties for its role in the Petrobras scandal. If SBM Offshore does settle with Brazilian authorities for this amount, it will be a first step in resolving the morass businesses sucked into that ...
-
Blog
Bristol-Myers Squibb Settles FCPA Case for $14 Million
Pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb has reached a $14 million settlement with the SEC for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. According to the Commission, the company’s joint venture in China made cash payments and provided other benefits to healthcare providers at state-owned and state-controlled hospitals in exchange for prescription ...
-
Blog
Sponsors Turn Up the Heat on FIFA Corruption
Image: Four of FIFA’s largest sponsors have called on the group’s president, Sepp Blatter, to resign immediately given his role in possible misconduct at the soccer organization. (Blatter is now under criminal investigation by Swiss prosecutors.) That business-driven pressure, Compliance Week blogger Tom Fox (left) says, might be the first ...
-
Blog
Hyperdynamics to Pay $75K to SEC in FCPA Case
Oil and gas company Hyperdynamics announced this week that it has reached a $75,000 settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve violations of the books and records and internal control provisions of the Securities Exchange Act. Hyperdynamics said it consented to the SEC order without admitting or denying ...
-
Blog
New U.S.-China Corruption Cooperation Initiative
Image: An interesting development reported this week: The United States and China have agreed to cooperate on the seizure of assets obtained through corruption and on the deportations of Chinese nationals from the United States who engaged in bribery and corruption in China and later fled to America for sanctuary. ...