Barclays is now among a growing list of financial institutions to have to pay a penalty for violations of the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act due to questionable hiring practices. As with other cases of its kind, numerous compliance failures were present.
On Sept. 27, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Barclays will pay $6.3 million to settle charges that it violated the FCPA by hiring the relatives and friends of foreign government officials in order to improperly influence them in connection with its investment banking business. According to the SEC’s order, Barclays’ Asia Pacific Region (APAC) provided valuable employment to the relatives, friends, and associates of government officials to obtain or retain business or other benefits. Many of these “relationship hires” were made through an unofficial intern program, but some were also hired through Barclays’ formal intern program, its graduate program, or as candidates for permanent positions.
