Okay, I have to admit – it is getting hard to keep up with all the changes to the Russia Sanctions Program.  The Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Asset Control’s imposition of the Oligarch Sanctions (here) and Congress’ passage of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (“CAATSA”) (here) has made life difficult.  There is no way anyone can really follow the bouncing ball in...

On May 8th, 2018, the Trump administration withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA and began to reimpose the U.S. nuclear-related sanctions.  All of the sanctions in existence prior to the JCPOA including nuclear-related secondary sanctions will be effective on November 5, 2018.  The wind-down of Iran-related activities pursuant to authorizations provided by the JCPOA is required in two wind-down periods – a 90 day...

Legg Mason can finally close its books on the Gaddafi-era, Libyan bribery scandal.  In June 2018, Legg Mason entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the Justice Department and agreed to pay $32 million for its role in the bribery scheme.  Société Générale entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and paid $585 million for FCPA violations. Société Générale and Legg Mason admitted to paying over $90...

Criminal prosecutors understand the importance of cooperating witness to the criminal justice system.  Cooperating witnesses are vital to the criminal justice system because they are in the unique position of explaining to a jury the operation of a criminal enterprise.  Without insider information, there are numerous criminals and criminal organizations that would never have been dismantled and punished.  As we have seen in the recent...

The Justice Department’s attempt to assert broad jurisdiction over foreign nationals was rebuked in a recent US Court of Appeals decision in United States v. Hoskins. (Here).  As a result, the appellate court affirmed the lower court’s decision to dismiss the FCPA conspiracy count against defendant Hoskins, a former Alstom executive. The government will still be able to prosecute Hoskins for substantive FCPA violations based...

In June 2018, the SEC announced an FCPA settlement with Beam Suntory for violations in India.  Beam’s settlement totaled over $8 million.  Beam’s conduct involved illegal payments made through third-party representatives to increase Beam’s sales, product placement and secure appropriate registrations and approvals needed to distribute liquor in India.  Beam also did not receive any remediation credit for its failure to adequately respond to and...

In a recently released letter (here), the Justice Department issued a declination to the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL) for violations of the FCPA under the FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy.  DOJ required ICBL to pay approximately $93,000 in disgorgement. ICBL paid approximately $36,000 in bribes to Donville Innis, a Barbadian government official, in exchange for government contracts worth approximately $686,000 and $93,000 in profits....

The Trump Administration issued a new executive order on August 6, 2018, in order to reimpose the first tranche of the Iran sanctions lifted by the former Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”).  In doing so, the executive order consolidates relevant sanctions authorities and broadens the scope of the previous restrictions. Companies will now have to comply with a renewed set of secondary sanctions, and...

There is no universal definition of corruption.  Frankly, the term can be narrowly defined to focus on bribery or it can be given a wider application, extending to abuse of power.  Transparency International defines corruption as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.” Frankly, it depends on the official involved and the purpose of an institution.  As a broad concept, corruption becomes an ethical...

One of the more esoteric debates among legal scholars focuses on defining corruption and the political roots of anti-corruption efforts.  As it turns out, scholars have pointed to the Framers debate and provisions in the U.S. Constitution to support the idea that in creating the United States government, the Framers were significantly concerned about the pernicious effects of corruption on government. The debate on corruption...