In a pair of enforcement actions, here and here, OFAC settled two separate actions involving Schlumberger Limited subsidiaries – the first involving Cameron International Corporation, and the second, Schlumberger Rod Lift, Inc., a former subsidiary, that was acquired by Lufkin Rod Lift, Inc. Cameron agreed to pay $1.423 million to settle OFAC charges for providing services to the Gazprom-Neft Shelf for an Arctic offshore oil...

The SEC’s FCPA enforcement action against WPP presents a number of important lessons learned, ranging from third-party risk management, properly responding to employee complaints and red flags, and failure to integrate acquisition targets into existing compliance programs.  At bottom, WPP and its subsidiaries lacked any culture of compliance.  While it is easy to cite all the deficiencies in the WPP subsidiaries, such a focus misses...

The SEC’s FCPA settlement with WPP for over $19.2 million provides a variety of bribery schemes in several high-risk venues. The schemes are instructive because they remind anti-corruption compliance professionals of the number of ways in which bribery can be carried out.  In this way, the SEC’s enforcement action is informative and contains helpful reminders on various risks in the anti-corruption arena.  India: In July...

After a long hiatus, the SEC announced a settlement with WPP plc, the world’s largest advertising group, for FCPA violations in India, China, Brazil and Peru for $19.2 million.  The SEC’s resolution charges WPP with violations of the anti-bribery, books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the FCPA. The Justice Department’s investigation of WPP appears to be ongoing. WPP has dual headquarters, in...