Kara Brockmeyer announced her retirement from the Securities and Exchange Commission in April, after a 17-year career with the Commission. Her stint at the Commission coincided with the dramatic rise in enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by both the SEC and Justice Department. From 2011 until her retirement, Brockmeyer led the SEC’s FCPA unit. Brockmeyer was quoted in the SEC Press Release, at the announcement of her retirement, as saying: “It has been an honor and a privilege to work with the incredibly talented and dedicated staff in the FCPA Unit and throughout the Division of Enforcement and the SEC. I am very proud of the results that the unit has achieved over the past five years.” Brockmeyer’s tenure as head of the FCPA Unit is a clear example of how the Commission fulfills its mandate to protect investors in U.S. public companies and provides greater transparency from those companies seeking access to the U.S. capital markets; most particularly through the enforcement of the Accounting Records provisions of the FCPA, including the Books and Records and Internal Controls provisions.
Brockmeyer’s term was one of the most innovative and productive for the Commission in the prosecution of FCPA violations. Under her tenure, the Commission brought its first FCPA enforcement action against a private equity entity, ended the question of whether tangible benefits (other than cash) provided to foreign officials were FCPA violations, and sought to bring a wider range of culpable individuals to justice for their attempts to engage in bribery and corruption. Under Brockmeyer’s tenure, the SEC developed and used Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) for the first time for the prosecution of an individual and pioneered the use of Non-Prosecution Agreements (NPAs) for FCPA prosecutions by the Commission, thereby expanding the tools available for FCPA enforcement. The numbers under Brockmeyer’s tenure were considerable: 72 FCPA enforcement actions brought by the Commission, with judgments and orders totaling more than $2 billion in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and penalties.
