Intermediaries | The FCPA Blog

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Bill Steinman
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Richard L. Cassin
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Cody Worthington
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Julie DiMauro
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Thomas Fox
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Marc Alain Bohn
Contributing Editor

Bill Waite
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Russell A. Stamets
Contributing Editor

Richard Bistrong
Contributing Editor

Eric Carlson
Contributing Editor

Posts Tagged: Intermediaries

Is your ‘business rationale’ for intermediaries fact or fiction?

Richard L. Cassin July 20, 2022

Compliance professionals have known for decades that intermediaries are involved in nearly all FCPA anti-bribery violations. The DOJ and SEC say plainly that FCPA enforcement actions “demonstrate that third parties, including agents, consultants, and distributors, are commonly used to conceal the payment of bribes to foreign officials in international business transactions.”… Continue Reading

I remember thinking, where did everyone go?

Richard Bistrong September 13, 2021

Dick Cassin warned in a post that we shouldn’t expect agents to keep quiet about the bribes they pay, to which I would also add, if there’s trouble, don’t expect them to stick around either.… Continue Reading

Don’t expect agents to keep quiet about bribes they pay

Richard L. Cassin August 26, 2021

In nearly all FCPA enforcement actions, agents, consultants, suppliers, distributors, and partners — whether real or faux — have a hand in bribery. They make approaches to foreign officials, set up offshore shell companies, generate fake invoices, and move money through accounts they own or control.… Continue Reading

Ericsson pays $1 billion to resolve FCPA violations

Richard L. Cassin December 6, 2019

Swedish telecom Ericsson agreed Friday to pay the DOJ and SEC over $1 billion in one of the biggest Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions ever.… Continue Reading

Intermediaries: Separating red flags from red herrings

Bill Steinman October 8, 2019

In this era of heightened FCPA enforcement, it is easy to assume that a red flag signals the end of a relationship with a business intermediary. By my count, 11 of the last 17 FCPA enforcement actions involved bribes funneled to foreign officials through third parties.… Continue Reading

Dear Intermediaries: Don’t manufacture your own red flags

Bill Steinman October 11, 2018

I see it time and time again — third parties that would otherwise pass muster under a client’s due diligence process create their own red flags.

They push back on a local registration requirement.… Continue Reading

Alexandra Wrage on Panasonic: Bad actors rarely work alone

Alexandra Wrage May 18, 2018

At every FCPA conference, someone comments that over 90 percent of FCPA matters involve third party intermediaries. It’s an interesting statistic and can be useful if it helps motivate the team to take due diligence seriously and encourages management to fund the program.… Continue Reading

Anne Fleur Goedegebuure: What can go wrong (and right) with third-party due diligence?

Anne Fleur Goedegebuure May 11, 2018

Working with third parties continues to be the single biggest corruption risk for business. Almost one in two enforcement actions concluded since the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention came into force in 1999 was the result of bribery through sales agents, intermediaries, distributors or brokers.… Continue Reading

Richard Bistrong: My friend, the agent, blackmailed me

Richard Bistrong January 23, 2018

This week I’m traveling to the Middle East for the first time in ten years. It’s a welcome return to a region where I spent a lot of time, and where I enjoyed dealing with agents and end users.… Continue Reading

Bill Steinman: Can you trust your offset advisor?

Bill Steinman August 3, 2017

Satisfying offset obligations is hard. Readers will recall that offsets are financial obligations imposed on defense contractors by foreign government customers as a condition to defense procurements.

For every dollar of financial benefit the defense contractor creates in the country in question, it is given credit towards satisfying its obligation. … Continue Reading

Tom Fox on third parties: A check up from your desktop

Thomas Fox April 20, 2017

When was the last time you did a third-party program check-up? Not a full review of all your third parties but something you can perform on a quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis with desktop tools available to you or your compliance team.… Continue Reading

U.S. law prohibits contingent fees in government contracts, except to ‘bona fide’ agents

Collin Swan and Sati Harutyunyan March 20, 2017

There is a long-standing debate over the benefits and drawbacks of using intermediaries to generate and retain business.

Numerous FCPA Blog posts have explained how agents and intermediaries can provide vital support to companies looking to break into foreign markets. … Continue Reading