The Justice Department’s record of FCPA enforcement in 2024 has been disappointing. With all of the hoopla and pronouncements surrounding the global war against corruption, DOJ suggested that enforcement in 2023 and 2024 would be robust. Instead, 2024 was a year of fizzles, fits and starts, and ultimately a slow year of FCPA enforcement. The future under the Trump Administration will be interesting. Based on...
We should all admit something (among many things) — reading through factual statements of bribery offenses, the facts all start to meld together. Criminals are not as ingenuous or creative as they think, and the schemes they employ are fairly straightforward. Let’s start with one profound grasp of the obvious — To pay bribes, criminals have to “steal” money from the company, that is, they...
Telefónica Venezolana C.A. (“Telefónica Venezolana”), the Venezuela-based subsidiary of Telefónica S.A. (Telefónica), the Spanish telecommunications company entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) and agreed to pay over $85.2 million to resolve DOJ FCPA charges stemming from bribery payments to Venezuelan government officials to secure preferential access to U.S. dollars in a currency auction. Telefónica Venezolana entered into a three-year DPA and the filing of a...
Raytheon Company (Raytheon) — a subsidiary of defense contractor, RTX (formerly known as Raytheon Technologies Corporation) — agreed to pay over $950 million to resolve the Justice Department’s investigations into: (i) a major government fraud scheme involving defective pricing on certain government contracts; (ii) violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA); and (iii) the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and its implementing regulations, the International Traffic...
The SEC notched another FCPA settlement, continuing its steady pursuit and resolution of FCPA cases. In the meantime, the Justice Department has been silent in the FCPA enforcement arena. In its latest settlement, Moog, Inc. (“Moog”), a New York-based global manufacturer of motion controls systems for aerospace, defense, industrial and medical markets, agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1.1 million and disgorge nearly $600,000,...
Raytheon’s comprehensive settlement included FCPA violations and failures to make required disclosures to the Defense Department concerning fees and commissions. This portion of the settlement was filed in the Eastern District of New York. Raytheon formed a joint venture with a French company. Its bribery scheme involved a subsidiary of the joint venture, Integrated Defense Systems (“IDS”), which was controlled by Raytheon. Between approximately 2012...
Raytheon Company (Raytheon) — a subsidiary of defense contractor, RTX (formerly known as Raytheon Technologies Corporation) — agreed to pay over $950 million to resolve the Justice Department’s investigations into: (i) a major government fraud scheme involving defective pricing on certain government contracts; (ii) violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA); and (iii) the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and its implementing regulations, the International Traffic...
The Deere case is an important reminder for companies to devote proper attention to ensuring robust integration planning for acquired companies. DOJ has provided important guidance on acquisition practices and the need to integrate acquired companies into the acquiring company’s ethics and compliance program and internal controls. Deere made little effort to integrate Wirtgen into its ethics and compliance program and control environment. As a...
The SEC’s recent settlement with Deere & Company for $9.9 million for FCPA violations is another textbook example of bribery schemes, which revealed the absence of a culture of compliance, and the circumvention of basic entertainment, hospitality and travel expense controls. Deere’s bribery scheme involved its Thailand subsidiary, Wirtgen Thailand, and various improper payments to government officials, including cash, sham consulting fees, extravagant “factory visit”...
While FCPA enforcement against companies has been relatively quiet this year, despite a strong beginning to the year — the SAP case for $220 million; and the Gunvor case for $661 million — DOJ has been pushing a number of individual cases, some of which appear to be flowing from ongoing corporate investigations. DOJ is expected to announce a new, large corporate resolution for more...
