The Justice Department announced a guilty plea to FCPA charges by Sargeant Marine, Inc., a privately-owned company, based in Boca Raton, Florida. Sargeant Marine, an asphalt company, plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and agreed to pay a fine of $16.6 million for bribery schemes in Brazil, Venezuela and Ecuador. Between 2010 and 2018, Sargeant Marine...
The Justice Department continues to pursue criminal cases against Venezuelan officials at Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) in an attempt to strangle President Nicolas Maduro. DOJ has been pursuing a three-pronged strategy by bringing cases in the New York, Miami and Houston federal courts. DOJ has been pursuing officials who have left Venezuela and now reside in Spain and other European locations. DOJ has charged...
DOJ announced the arrest of two individuals, Luis Martinelli Linares and Ricardo Martinelli Linares, who are the sons of the former President of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli) for their role in funneling $28 million in bribes to a former Panamanian government official as part of the Odebrecht bribery case. Luis and Ricardo were arrested while attempting to board a private airplane at an airport in Guatemala...
Judge Stanley Sporkin was a mentor, a professional colleague and a friend. I admired Judge Sporkin, respected his commitment to integrity and valued our professional collaboration and personal friendship. Judge Stanley Sporkin died on March 23, 2020. He was 88 years old. I am compelled to write about my friend. I will miss him. Judge Sporkin’s reputation for fairness and integrity was beyond reproach. His...
Judge Stanley Sporkin, a mentor, friend and professional colleague, died at age 88 on March 23, 2020. In a personal tribute to Judge Sporkin, I recount some highlights of my relationship with Judge Sporkin.
In a blockbuster case, the Justice Department announced a global settlement with Airbus SE, a manufacturer of civilian and military aircraft, under which Airbus agreed to pay over $4 billion (yes, with a “B”) to resolve charges with the United States, France, and the United Kingdom for its role in a bribery scheme, and to resolve Airbus’ violation of the International Trade in Arms Regulations...
Ericsson’s FCPA settlement is in the books (not the books and records). But it casts a significant shadow across the FCPA landscape. A pervasive and systemic culture of bribery is defined to reflect senior executive involvement, winning business at any cost and using bribery as an accepted business strategy. Ericsson will now pay more than just the price of a $1 billion settlement; it will...
In an interesting decision, well worth a read here, on August 9, 2019, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected Ng Lap Seng’s appeal of his 2017 conviction for bribery of united Nationals officials. In affirming the conviction, the Second Circuit ruled that the Supreme Court’s holding in McDonnell (see blog post here), in which the Court ruled that under 18 USC...
Compliance professionals are implementing their own monitoring and auditing strategies. Internal audit does not have the resources nor the time to assume responsibility for this function. If possible, internal audit may support, advise and assist in the monitoring and auditing functions. Frankly, a partnership between compliance and internal audit in this area is ideal but compliance cannot wait for internal audit to join the mission. ...
Companies will often rely on a network of distributors to help sell their products in emerging markets. From a business economics standpoint, engaging a distributor is often more cost efficient than investing in a sales force in a new market. As a result, companies may enter a new market by relying on distributors, and if successful, may invest in the future by establishing its own...
