FCPA Opinion Procedure Release 07-03 comes from an individual who wants to make a payment required by an Asian court to cover litigation-related expenses payable to a court-appointed administrator. The Release notes that the payment is being made to a government entity, the court clerk’s office, rather than a foreign official. The FCPA only prohibits … Read more »
FCPA Opinion Procedure Release 08-01
FCPA Opinion Procedure Release 08-01 (.pdf) came at the request of an unnamed company who is planning to have a subisidiary purchase the majority interest in an investement target from a State Enterprise. The minority interest is held by someone who would be considered a “foreign official” under the FCPA. Read more »
FCPA Opinion Procedure Release 08-02
FCPA Opinion Procedure Release 08-02 came at the request of Halliburton and its subsidiaries as they are looking to buy a UK well flow management company. They did not have enough time to complete the appropriate FCPA diligence on the target. Halliburton was concerned about inheriting FCPA liability as a result of its acquisition of … Read more »
FCPA Opinion Procedure Release 08-03
FCPA Opinion Procedure Release 08-03 was a request from TRACE International, Inc. on paying expenses for journalists from China to attend a press conference being held by TRACE in Shanghai. Most of the media outlets are wholly-owned by the People’s Republic of China. The opinion finds the stipend and expenses that TRACE intends to pay … Read more »
Trading in Real Estate Companies
As a real estate company, we restrict trading in real estate companies. What is the best way to maintain that list. One source is the NAREIT list of REITs and other publicly-traded real estate companies. This list is more exhaustive than the list of publicly traded REITs. Read more »
U.S. v. King
U.S. v. King (.pdf) was a FCPA case that came out of the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals on appeal from the USDC for the Western District of Missouri. The defendant was convicted of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with a scheme to bribe Costa Rican officials for valuable land concessions to … Read more »
Contingent Fee Arrangements in Government Contracts
Section 3.400 of the Federal Acquistion Regulations limit the ability of the federal governmen to enter into contingent fee arrangements. Federal contracts require the insertion of the Covenant Against Contingent Fees: (a) The Contractor warrants that no person or agency has been employed or retained to solicit or obtain this contract upon an agreement or … Read more »
Anti-Kickback Act
The Anti-Kickback Act of 1986, 41 U.S.C. § 51 et seq., modernized and closed the loopholes of previous statutes applying to government contractors. The 1986 law attempts to make the anti-kickback statute a more useful prosecutorial tool by expanding the definition of prohibited conduct and by making the statute applicable to a broader range of … Read more »
Gratuities Clause
Section 3.201 of the Federal Acquisition Regulations requires the Gratuities Clause in all federal government contracts: (a) The right of the Contractor to proceed may be terminated by written notice if, after notice and hearing, the agency head or a designee determines that the Contractor, its agent, or another representative— (1) Offered or gave a … Read more »
Bribery of Public Officials
18 U.S.C. § 201 prohibits the bribery of public officials. “Public Officials” means “Member of Congress, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, either before or after such official has qualified, or an officer or employee or person acting for or on behalf of the United States, or any department, agency or branch of Government thereof, including the … Read more »