The Department of Justice has named David Last to be the permanent chief of its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Unit, following his being appointed acting head in April.
The move was confirmed by a Justice Department spokesman Friday. No further information was provided.
Last took over as acting chief following the departure of Christopher Cestaro for a position in private practice with the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. Cestaro had led the division since 2019. Last was promoted from his previous position as assistant chief of the FCPA Unit.
Last year was a record year for resolutions under the FCPA, largely the result of the law’s role in global settlements with Goldman Sachs ($2.9 billion) and Airbus ($4 billion).
Other recent FCPA enforcement actions include a $177 million settlement with Scotland-based John Wood Group and a $164 million agreement with a U.S. affiliate of energy trader Vitol. The Vitol case was notable for the first-time involvement of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which coordinated with the Justice Department regarding how Vitol traders allegedly paid bribes to obtain and retain business related to the sale of oil products in Brazil.
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