In addition to learning about the FBI’s compliance program, understanding white collar criminals, and a visit to the FBI Academy, the FBI Corporate Compliance Officer Outreach Event included a very frank discussion of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The program brought in attorneys from the Department of Justice to discuss their approach to bringing FCPA … Read more »
Category: Bribery and Corruption
Bribes are Like a Box of Chocolates
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged medical device company Orthofix International N.V. with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. A subsidiary paid bribes, referred to as “chocolates”, to Mexican officials in order to obtain lucrative sales contracts with government hospitals. (I assume every commentator on this story will reference Forrest Gump, including me.) The “chocolates” … Read more »
Real Estate Executive Guilty of FCPA Violations
Back in February, 2009, Morgan Stanley self-reported FCPA violations in the firm’s China real estate investment operations. Garth Peterson, the ex-Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing managing director has pleaded guilty for his role in evading he firm’s internal controls for the purposes of personal gain. Peterson agreed to a settlement of the SEC’s charges in … Read more »
Handy Decision Trees to Help with your Bribes
Thinking about making a payment or giving “anything of value” as part of a business meeting and wondering if you could be prosecuted for it under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or the Travel Act? Just reach into your briefcase and pull out a handy-dandy decision tree to help you through this difficult process. T. … Read more »
FCPA Conviction Upheld
There are few court cases involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Most of those accused quickly settle and move on. With few court cases that means the appellate decisions helping to interpret the FCPA are rare. Yesterday we had one of those rare sightings. Frederic Bourke was convicted of FCPA violations in 2009. Bourke co-founded … Read more »
FCPA as a Strike Breaker
The United Steelworkers sent a request to investigate to the U.S. Justice Department. The union believes Freeport-McMoRan has violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by engaging the bribery of security forces in Indonesia. The Jakarta Post said national police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo admitted his personnel had received ‘meal money’ to guard the company’s gold … Read more »
Another FCPA Opinion Procedure Release on Corporate Hospitality
The Department of Justice released the latest Opinion Procedure Release on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The releases are great tool to help you figure out if a proposed corporate action could lead to an enforcement action. Anyone with an interest in the FCPA looks to the existing body of opinion releases as a way … Read more »
The First Days of the UK Bribery Act
It’s a been a few days since the UK’s Bribery Act became effective, making some questionable corporate behavior become clearly illegal. There have been thousands of news stories, legal alerts, and dire warnings about the line in the sand drawn on its date of effectiveness, July 1. Now, there is a bit a waiting, a … Read more »
Corruption and Twitter
“If someone is being hit for a bribe, isn’t the easiest thing just to put it on Twitter? It goes round the world in next to no time.” Richard Alderman, head of the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office, is apparently serious about Twitter. After self-congratulating themselves for organizing the government overthrows in North Africa and the … Read more »
Paying a Bribe? There’s an App for that
Can you crowdsource the fight against corruption? An international team coming from Estonia, Lithuania, Finland and Iran thinks you might. They created a smartphone app that allows people to anonymously report incidences of bribery and later see the data visualized on an interactive map. Bribespot is an app that allows you to see how much … Read more »