The issue has been joined – should the FCPA be amended in order to promote US business interests?  A number of NGOs joined together to announce their opposition to any relaxation of the FCPA.  International anti-corruption organizations are hoping they can slow down organized business interests.  The Chamber of Commerce continues to push its reform agenda.  The Justice Department is playing it smart – promising...

Aside from FCPA enforcement, the Justice Department proudly points to its aggressive enforcement against insider trading.  The US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York has used aggressive tactics to uncover insider trading schemes, particularly in the private equity and hedge fund industry.  The FBI has employed wiretaps, undercover recordings, search warrants, and ambush interviews to build cases which have sprawled across the...

 When conducting an internal investigation, it is important to consider the Justice Department’s ability to gather and compel the production of evidence in foreign countries.  It is a strategic issue which is at the forefront of every FCPA internal investigation. This issue is particularly important when dealing with third-party agents who may be involved in foreign bribery.  Assuming that DOJ has jurisdiction over a foreign entity, there are a...

Bringing It All Back Home – Bob Dylan FCPA internal investigations pose unique procedural and substantive challenges because the inevitable focus of the investigation lies in acts committed in foreign countries.  Even assuming your internal investigation reveals foreign bribery activity and you are able to collect the evidence surrounding such conduct, the delicate and critical aspect of an internal investigation will focus on what did...

The stakes are high in every FCPA internal investigation.  The reporting relationship between the investigator and the corporate board is a minefield which has to be navigated carefully to protect the company and the individual directors.  It is important for investigators to carry out their assignment with an appreciation of the board’s responsibilities to gather, review and assess the facts, and make critical decisions on...

I wanted to devote this week to a series of posts on FCPA internal investigations.  Given the importance of this issue, I expect to return to this topic in the future.  There are a number of former prosecutors who are now in private practice and are well equipped to conduct internal investigations.  Many federal prosecutors are talented investigators who are able to interview witnesses, review documents, and...

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One of the Department’s Crown Jewels is its Health Care Fraud Initiative which primarily focuses on Medicare and Medicaid fraud and Off-Label Promotion cases.  The False Claims Act is the principal tool used by the Justice Department.  For FY 2011, the Justice Department recovered over $3 billion in fraud cases.  Approximately $2.8 billion were the result of whistleblower complaints, an increase of $500 million over...

In an ideal world, the criminal justice system should be immune from politics.  That is wishful but unrealistic thinking.   Unfortunately, our criminal justice system has always been stretched at times to further one political agenda over another.  That is not meant to condemn the entire judicial system, just what I would call the excesses – those prosecutions which are politically motivated and which can be...

The FCPA has broad international application.  That does not mean that the United States has authority over every individual on the planet Earth.  In order to establish jurisdiction over a foreign agent of a U.S. company or non-U.S. issuer, a foreign entity must commit an act in furtherance of an FCPA violation “while in the territory of the United States.”  15 U.S.C. § 78dd-3.  The...