Federal prosecutors recently settled two cases involving violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, underscoring the government’s growing interest in prosecuting such cases, as well as the evolving nature of the charges themselves and how they are resolved.
Most notably, Norwegian oil giant Statoil, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, confessed to bribing an Iranian for valuable oil and gas rights in Iran—the first instance of the Justice Department taking action against a foreign issuer over FCPA violations. Statoil agreed to pay a $10.5 million fine and enter into a three-year deferred-prosecution agreement with the DoJ, and also disgorged $10.5 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
