The Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007, Pub. L. 110-49, which amends section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 USC §2170) authorizes the President to review merger, acquisitions and takeovers by or with any foreign person which could result in foreign control of any person engaged in interstate commerce in … Read more »
Category: Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Sovereign Wealth Funds Adopt Voluntary Best Practices
Adam O. Emmerich of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz put together a summary published on The Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Blog on the Santiago Principles and the potential impact of these on investments by sovereign wealth funds: Sovereign Wealth Funds Adopt Voluntary Best Practices. Intended to demonstrate that SWFs are soundly established and that … Read more »
Are Sovereign Wealth Funds State-Owned Enterprises?
Steve Tyrrell, Chief of the Fraud Section in DOJ’s Criminal Division, has observed that the DOJ may treat employees of sovereign wealth funds as government officials for purposes of the FCPA Sovereign wealth funds have been playing a larger role in the domestic securities markets as companies search for increasingly scarce supplies of capital. Mr. … Read more »
Who Is a Foreign Official After the Government Bailout of Financial Instiutions?
We have all read about the bailout of US financial institutions by the US government. This is not happening in other countries. This complicates the analysis under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. As Joel M. Cohen, Michael P. Holland, and Adam P. Wolf of Clifford Chance examined in Under the FCPA, Who Is a Foreign … Read more »
KMPG Survey Shows Lack of FCPA Due Diligence
KPMG Forensic released aurvey of 103 U.S. executives with FCPA duties. The survey found: only one-third of respondents reported having an adequate due diligence process, and 27% said such compliance was only “minimal.” The survey also found that while 40% of companies include anti-corruption certifications in their normal business dealings, most of those companies apply … Read more »
Avon Fall-Out
We are starting to see some of the fall-out from the Avon FCPA investigation [Ding Dong, FCPA Calling]. The Wall Street Journal [Regulators Detained by China in Probe] and Reuters [China probe may curb foreign deals: sources] are both reporting the detention of two officials from the Commerce Ministry. The Wall Street is reporting that … Read more »
FCPA Allegation Against McCain Fundraiser
Republican fundraiser Harry Sargent III is subject to a suit from Supreme Fuels that Sargent’s company International Oil Trading Company made illegal payments to Jordanian officials. IOTC has an exclusinve license to move military fuel through Jordan. IOTC’s response, according to the NBC News Investigates story: . . .in an email to NBC News, a … Read more »
SEC Prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
According to Linda Chatman Thomsen, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, in a Forbes Article [The SEC in 2008: A Very Good Year?], the SEC filed 15 FCPA cases in 2008. Since January 2006, the SEC has brought 38 FCPA enforcement actions. That number is more than were brought in all prior years combined … Read more »
Cadwalader’s FCPA Advisor
The Fall 2006 Issue of Cadwalader’s FCPA Advisor provides a great background and overview of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Read more »
International Standards for the Bribery of Public Officials
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is the U.S. standard for bribery of public officials by U.S. concerns or international concerns with a presence in the U.S. The international standard is the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions promulgated by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. The convention sets … Read more »