Tagged: FCPA

15 Aug, 2023

The Corficocolombiana FCPA Settlement: the Bribery Scheme (Part II of II)

You can always learn a lot from reviewing the underlying conduct to an FCPA enforcement action. Chief compliance officers can identify specific risk factors, mitigation steps and root causes for bribery schemes. The Corficocolombiana (“Corfico”) FCPA settlement underscores the significant risks when companies participate in large projects in foreign countries. Between 2012 and 2015, Corfico paid more than $23 million in bribes to high-ranking Colombian...

Podcasts

12 Jun, 2023

Episode 278 — “The New FCPA”: Sanctions and Export Control Enforcement and Compliance

Last year, the Department of Justice warned global companies of a new, aggressive strategy for enforcement of trade sanctions and export controls. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco stated that sanctions and export enforcement constituted “The New FCPA.” DOJ, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) have joined forces to aggressively enforce sanctions...

General

24 May, 2023

DOJ’s Enforcement and Compliance Changes: Weighing the Pros and Cons of Voluntary Disclosures

The Justice Department certainly has altered the landscape of enforcement, compliance priorities, and ultimately corporate decisions surrounding voluntary disclosure. It has become a little bit more complicated to sort out all the carrots and sticks. One thing is clear – DOJ wants more companies to voluntarily disclose misconduct. And that is understandable. DOJ does not want companies to wait until they receive a grand jury...

General

11 May, 2023

Frank’s International Pays SEC $8 Million to Resolve FCPA Violations In Angola

Franks International (“Frank’s”) settled FCPA charges with the SEC for $8 million stemming from operations in Angola during the period 2008 to 2014. The Justice Department declined to prosecute Frank’s for the same events. Frank’s was a global provider of engineered tubular services, tubular fabrication, and specialty well construction and well intervention solutions to the oil and gas industry, incorporated in the Netherlands. On October...

General

10 May, 2023

A Five Step Program for Every Company to Address the New Enforcement Threats

Companies have to demand a new focus from their CEOs, senior executives and legal compliance team in response to the new DOJ and regulatory initiatives. These steps are not just suggestions nor items that can be prioritized based on resources. Instead, these are essential and basic requirements that will inevitably result in significant benefits across the company. Step 1: Define, Embed and Monitor Corporate Culture...

Podcasts

3 Apr, 2023

Episode 268: FCPA Catch Up: Corsa Coal Declination and Flutter and Rio Tinto SEC Settlements

The Justice Department is continuing its push to encourage to encourage companies to voluntarily disclose FCPA misconduct. In its latest declination, DOJ settled with Corsa Coal for its bribery scheme in Egypt. Under the declination, Corsa Coal paid $1.2 million in disgorgement and earned a significant reduction from DOJ because of its inability to pay. The SEC recently settled two separate enforcement actions, one against...

General

29 Mar, 2023

Rio Tinto Pays $15 Million to Resolve FCPA Violations in Guinea

Rio Tinto, the global mining and metals company, agreed to pay the SEC $15 million to settle FCPA violations arising from an alleged bribery scheme involving a senior Guinean government official. Between 1997 and 2006, Rio Tinto was granted mining and exploration rights to four section blocks in the Simandou mountain region. In late 2008, after a change in administrations, the Guinea Government revoked Raio...

General

20 Feb, 2023

DOJ Charges Two Oil and Gas Traders with FCPA Bribery Scheme Involving Petrobras

In its first enforcement action of 2023, the Justice Department charged a Connecticut man and a foreign national with FCPA bribery and money laundering charges stemming from a bribery scheme to secure contracts with Petrobras in Brazil. Glenn Oztemel was a senior oil and gas trader at two trading companies., and Eduardo Innecco, a dual Italian and Brazilian citizen, was an oil and gas broker...

General

7 Feb, 2023

The Importance of Accounting and Internal Controls (Part I of II)

Here are some basic propositions that surround FCPA compliance. It is often underplayed that the FCPA contains more than just a bribery prohibition – the FCPA contains broad provisions, requiring accurate books and records and internal controls. When it comes to bribery, wrongdoers have to find ways to “steal” or gain unauthorized access to money often by circumventing internal controls. Thus, bribery conduct often goes...

General

30 Jan, 2023

Justice Department Tweaks Corporate Enforcement Policy to Entice More Corporate Voluntary Disclosures

The Department of Justice announced revisions to its Corporate Enforcement Policy (“CEP”) yet again in order to promote voluntary disclosures by Companies that discover potential wrongdoing. DOJ’s latest action demonstrated its commitment to several ideas: (1) Increasing prosecution of individual wrongdoers; (2) Offering benefits to companies to encourage self-reporting, cooperation and remediation; (3) Reducing the burdens on corporate shareholders from large fines and penalties that...