In 2010, I published an article titled “The Facade of FCPA Enforcement.” This article discussed various pillars that contribute to the facade of FCPA enforcement and highlighted that the FCPA, during its decade of resurgence, was being enforced like no other law. This article did not argue, or even suggest, that every FCPA enforcement action is unwarranted or that no company or individual has never violated the FCPA. Rather, the article demonstrated that a significant majority of FCPA enforcement actions…

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act settlement amounts are one obvious consequence of alleged FCPA non-compliance and tend to generate the most headlines. However, as has been discussed on these pages for years  including in this article “FCPA Ripples”, settlement amounts are only one consequence of the overall financial ramifications of FCPA scrutiny and enforcement. As highlighted in this prior post, in early 2019 Cognizant Technology Solutions, without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, resolved a…

One of the most challenging issues to pin down in many legal and policy discussions is causation. When thinking of causation, we often fall for the fallacy of post hoc ergo propter hoc (in other words, since event Y followed event X, event Y must have been caused by event X). However, real life is often more complex and this is also true in many Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions. For instance, can it really be…

Since 2014, the FCPA Institute has elevated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act knowledge and practical skills of hundreds of professionals from around the world. In the current COVID environment, the traditional two-day in-person FCPA Institute is still not yet feasible. However, there remains a need for FCPA knowledge and skill development. After the inaugural FCPA Institute – Zoom was offered in November 2020 to a worldwide audience, and another in April 2021 to a worldwide…

As highlighted in this prior post, in November 2018 the DOJ criminally charged former Goldman Sachs executives Tim Leissner and Ng Chong Hwa (Roger Ng) (along with Low Taek Jho – Jho Low) with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act offenses for paying bribes to various Malaysian and Abu Dhabi officials in connection with 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Malaysia’s state-owned and state-controlled investment development company. Leissner pleaded guilty and in October 2020 Goldman Sachs resolved a net …

This recent FCPA Blog post asks “How Big a Problem Is Corporate FCPA Recidivism?” The post asserts that there have been 13 repeat FCPA defendants. However, like a lot of data on the FCPA Blog, this number is wrong. As highlighted in this prior post, there have been 17 repeat corporate FCPA offenders and the post contained the complete list. While the difference between 13 and 17 may seem like a trivial matter, the…

As highlighted in this prior post, in late 2019 Swedish telecom company Ericsson (a company with American Depositary Shares traded in the U.S.) resolved a $1.06 billion net FCPA enforcement action concerning conduct in Djibouti, China, Vietnam, Kuwait, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia. Regarding Djibouti, the enforcement action alleged that Ericsson (through certain subsidiaries and agents) provided approximately $2,100,000 in bribe payments to, and for the benefit of, foreign officials in Djibouti, including a high-ranking government…