FCPA Professor LLC

Described as “the Wall Street Journal concerning all things FCPA-related,” and "the most authoritative source for those seeking to understand and apply the FCPA," FCPA Professor has been named a Top Law Blog for in-house counsel by Corporate Counsel, a Top 25 Business Law Blog by LexisNexis, and a top 100 Legal Blog by the American Bar Association. FCPA Professor readers include a world-wide audience of attorneys, business and compliance professionals, government agencies, scholars and students, journalists and other interested persons.

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Mike Koehler

Latest from FCPA Professor LLC

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FCPA Professor has been described as “the Wall Street Journal concerning all things FCPA-related,” and “the most authoritative source for those seeking to understand and apply the FCPA.” Set forth below are the topics discussed this week on FCPA Professor. As highlighted here, a recent speech by Attorney General William Barr is FCPA relevant. This post highlights a recent speech by Stephanie Avakian (Director – SEC Division of Enforcement) and includes rebuttal points. The…
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This prior post went in-depth into the recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action against Sargeant Marine Inc. (SMI) and this post continues the analysis by highlighting additional issues to consider. Why Disclose? For approximately 15 years, the DOJ has been encouraging business organizations to voluntarily disclose FCPA violations. Yet, time and time again, the DOJ undermines its goal by how it resolves certain enforcement actions. The SMI matter is the latest example that should…
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Earlier this week, the DOJ announced that Sargeant Marine Inc. (SMI – an asphalt company based in Florida) “pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $16.6 million to resolve foreign bribery charges stemming from conduct by the company and its employees and agents in Brazil, Venezuela and Ecuador.” According to the DOJ release: “Previously, a corporate executive for Sargeant Marine, Daniel Sargeant; two Sargeant Marine traders who were active in Brazil, Venezuela and Ecuador, Roberto Finocchi…
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Yesterday, the DOJ announced that Javier Aguilar (described as a trader at the U.S. subsidiary of a multinational oil distributor and trading company – “Trading Company) was criminally charged for “his alleged participation in a five-year international bribery and money laundering scheme involving corrupt payments to Ecuadorian officials.” According to this report, Aguilar’s former employer is Vitol Inc. As highlighted in this previous post, Vitol has reportedly been under scrutiny. Although not…
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Recently Stephanie Avakian (Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement) gave this speech in which she touched upon a variety of enforcement topics. This post excerpts certain portions of Avakian’s speech regarding the quality, nature, and effectiveness of SEC enforcement efforts, individual accountability, and the time it takes to complete an investigation and enforcement action. Starting with the numbers, Avakian stated: “In fiscal year 2019, the Commission obtained financial remedies of $4.3 billion dollars. That…
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Last week Attorney General William Barr delivered this Constitution Day speech. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was never mentioned. However, as highlighted below several of the topics discussed were FCPA relevant. Barr stated: “The rule of law is the lynchpin of American freedom.  And the critical guarantee of the rule of law comes from the Constitution’s structure of separated powers.  The Framers recognized that by dividing the legislative, executive, and judicial powers— each significant,…
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FCPA Professor has been described as “the Wall Street Journal concerning all things FCPA-related,” and “the most authoritative source for those seeking to understand and apply the FCPA.” Set forth below are the topics discussed this week on FCPA Professor. As highlighted here, it is “earnings management” season at the SEC. The State Department’s “Investment Climate Statements” serve as a useful reminder why Congress chose to exempt facilitation payments from the reach of the FCPA’s…
For at least 15 years the government has encouraged business organizations to voluntary disclosure conduct that violates the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In more recent years, in 2012 the government sought in the FCPA Guidance to entice business organizations to voluntarily disclose by, among other things, highlighting six “anonymized examples of matters DOJ and SEC have declined to pursue” where a common thread was voluntary disclosure. In April 2016, it was the DOJ’s pilot program,…
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Granted football this Fall may not be as widespread as previous years because of COVID. However, games have begun and for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (and related) professionals, understanding the game is not just a professional diversion, but one that can actually add professional value as well. The reason is because understanding what makes a football organization successful can also inform FCPA compliance in a business organization. In the spirit of the season, my article…
The FCPA Institute Online is the most comprehensive online FCPA training course available and is a time and cost efficient way for in-house and outside counsel; compliance professionals; finance, accounting, and auditing professionals; business executives and others to elevate their FCPA knowledge and practical skills. The FCPA Institute Online consists of over 12 hours of narrated instruction from Professor Koehler (as well as availability to answer questions) and guides professionals through the following FCPA topics…