During the third calendar quarter, there were five corporate FCPA enforcement actions and one individual resolution.
(Last year in Q3 there was one corporate enforcement action and two individual actions related to Noble.)
Five FCPA defendants pleaded guilty to criminal FCPA charges from July to September, including the former CFO of Siemens Argentina.
There was one declination.
Here’s the full report for the third quarter:
DOJ / SEC Enforcement Resolutions
Louis Berger International Inc. (July 20) paid $17.1 million to resolve FCPA criminal offenses. The New Jersey-based construction management company admitted bribing foreign officials in India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Kuwait to win contracts. Louis Berger entered into a deferred prosecution agreement that requires a compliance monitor for at least three years.
Mead Johnson (July 28) paid $12 million to settle SEC FCPA charges. The SEC said a China unit paid $2 million in bribes to healthcare professionals at state-owned hospitals.
Vicente Eduardo Garcia (August 12), a former regional director of SAP International Inc., settled SEC charges that he violated the antibribery and internal controls provisions of the FCPA by bribing officials in Panama and taking kickbacks. He agreed to pay $92,395 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest. He also pleaded guilty to criminal charges (see below).
BNY Mellon (August 18) paid $14.8 million to settle SEC charges that it violated the FCPA by providing valuable student internships to family members of foreign government officials affiliated with a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund.
Hitachi Ltd. (September 28) paid $19 million to resolve SEC charges that it inaccurately recorded improper payments to South Africa’s ruling political party in connection with contracts to build two multi-billion dollar power plants.
Hyperdynamics Corporation (September 29) paid $75,000 to resolve SEC allegations of books and records and internal controls offenses linked to payments in the African country of Guinea. In May this year, the company said the DOJ had closed its FCPA investigation without bringing any charges.
Guilty Pleas
Richard Hirsch (July 20), the former senior vice president of Louis Berger responsible for operations in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and one substantive count of violating the FCPA. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on November 5.
James McClung (July 20), the former senior vice president of Louis Berger responsible for the company’s operations in India and later for Vietnam, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and one substantive count of violating the FCPA. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on November 5.
Vicente Eduardo Garcia (August 12), a former regional director of SAP International Inc., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the FCPA by bribing Panamanian officials to win government technology contracts for SAP. Sentencing is scheduled for December 16.
Daren Condrey (August 31), pleaded guilty on June 17 to conspiring to violate the FCPA and conspiring to commit wire fraud. Condrey and his wife Carol were principals of Transport Logistics International, based in Fulton, Maryland. They paid over $2 million in bribes in exchange for transport contracts with the Russian state-owned nuclear energy corporation, JSC Techsnabexport (Tenex). He’ll be sentenced on November 2. A Tenex official, Vadim Mikerin, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Andres Truppel (September 30), the former chief financial officer of Siemens S.A. – Argentina, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the anti-bribery, internal controls, and books and records provisions of the FCPA, and to commit wire fraud.guilty. No date has been set for sentencing.
Declination
NCR Corp. (August 6) was informed that the SEC does not intend to recommend an FCPA enforcement action. The SEC’s decision came after a three-year investigation.
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Our prior enforcement reports are here:
FCPA Enforcement Report for Q1 2015
FCPA Enforcement Report for Q2 2015
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Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. He can be contacted here.
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