Important developments in U.S. securities law, white collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement and other emerging issues impacting financial services institutions, publicly traded companies and private investment funds
Prosecutors in the District of Connecticut have appealed a district court’s ruling that conspiracy and aiding and abetting charges cannot be used to extend the FCPA’s jurisdictional reach.… Continue Reading
By Sigal Mandelker and Edward Canter on Posted in White Collar
The Department of Justice yesterday upped the ante in its efforts to encourage companies to self-report potential Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) violations when it unveiled a one-year pilot program that includes carrots for companies who take the self-reporting route and sticks for those that don’t. This announcement follows the Department’s recent emphasis on prosecuting individuals … Continue Reading
On July 17, 2015, Louis Berger International, Inc., a New Jersey-based construction management company, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the Department of Justice under which it agreed to pay a $17.1 million penalty for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In addition to the hefty penalty paid, the company agreed to … Continue Reading
Last week, the DOJ announced its first corporate enforcement action under the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (“FCPA”) for 2015. IAP World Services, Inc., a Florida-based defense and government contractor, agreed to pay $7.1 million in a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) for conspiring to bribe Kuwaiti officials in exchange for a contract to build a large-scale homeland … Continue Reading
By Sigal Mandelker, Jonathan Siegelaub and Phillip Caraballo-Garrison on Posted in White Collar
Last week, the Texas Supreme Court joined the majority of jurisdictions in holding that a company enjoys an absolute privilege when providing the Department of Justice (DOJ) with an internal investigation report containing statements later alleged by an employee to be defamatory. The decision in Shell Oil Co. v. Writt, __S.W.3d__ (Tex. 2015) should provide … Continue Reading
Following recent trends, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought an administrative proceeding against a U.S. issuer for the alleged corrupt activities of its foreign subsidiaries. Earlier this week, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company agreed to pay the SEC over $16 million to settle charges alleging that it violated the accounting provisions of the Foreign … Continue Reading
By Sigal Mandelker and Phillip Caraballo-Garrison on Posted in White Collar
Last week, the Department of Justice announced the first Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action of 2015, against Dmitrij Harder, the former owner and president of the Chestnut Consulting Group. The allegations are premised, in part, on a seldom-used section of the FCPA: the statutory provision that prohibits bribing officials of public international organizations. According … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, Alstom S.A., a French multinational power and transportation company, pleaded guilty in the District of Connecticut to a two-count information charging it with violating the accounting provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The penalty levied against Alstom, over $772 million, will be the largest criminal fine that has ever been imposed … Continue Reading
By Sigal Mandelker and Phillip Caraballo-Garrison on Posted in White Collar
The U.S. Department of Justice recently publicized its second Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Opinion Procedure Release of 2014. In the Release, the DOJ reiterated that an acquiring company may not inherit FCPA liability when the DOJ did not have jurisdiction over the target company’s prior corrupt activities. The DOJ has repeatedly asserted that, through principles … Continue Reading
