Bob Beamon’s long jump of 29 feet 2½ inches in Mexico City in the 1968 Olympics broke the world record by an astounding 21¾ inches. With that one jump Beamon became the first man to reach both 28 and 29 feet, and the word Beamonesque was born — meaning a spectacular event. We’d describe Siemens’ $800 million settlement on Monday of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations as Beamonesque, considering that it surpassed the existing FCPA settlement record by $755.9 million.
Before Siemens, Baker Hughes‘ April 2007 payment of $44.1 million (including penalties and disgorgement) was the biggest in an FCPA case. Baker Hughes, we think, won’t be sorry to relinquish the top spot on the settlement list since being there gets you mentioned in the press about as often as Madonna.
Among other notable settlements, Willbros paid $32.3 million in May this year and Chevron’s violations related to the U.N.’s oil for food program cost it $30 million last year. Titan Corporation held the record after it paid $28.5 million in 2005 for its FCPA settlement. Vetco’s resolution cost it $26 million in 2007 and Lockheed paid $24.8 million in 1994, the biggest case of its time. York International spent $22 million last year to end its enforcement action. Statoil was close behind in 2006, paying $21 million. AB Volvo’s 2008 case settled for $19.6 million, and ABB’s violations cost it $16.4 million in 2004. Schnitzer Steel agreed to pay $15.2 million in 2006 and Flowserve $10.5 million this year.
Bob Beamon’s great leap stood as a world record for 23 years and earned him a postage stamp in Burundi (pictured above). We’re fairly sure Siemens won’t be appearing soon on any postage stamps, but it could hold the FCPA settlement record for a very long time.
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Our thanks to Joe Hixson for helping assemble the settlement data in this post. He’s with the strategic communications firm The Abernathy MacGregor Group Inc., which has represented some very well-known companies in connection with FCPA enforcement actions. Despite Joe’s help, any mistakes in what’s written above are all ours.
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