News and commentary about white-collar crime, enforcement, and compliance
Harry Cassin
Publisher and Editor
Andy Spalding
Senior Editor
Jessica Tillipman
Senior Editor
Bill Steinman
Senior Editor
Richard L. Cassin
Editor at Large
Elizabeth K. Spahn
Editor Emeritus
Cody Worthington
Contributing Editor
Julie DiMauro
Contributing Editor
Thomas Fox
Contributing Editor
Marc Alain Bohn
Contributing Editor
Bill Waite
Contributing Editor
Russell A. Stamets
Contributing Editor
Richard Bistrong
Contributing Editor
Eric Carlson
Contributing Editor
American conglomerate Honeywell International Inc. agreed Monday to pay the SEC and DOJ $160 million to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act stemming from conduct in Brazil and Algeria.… Continue Reading
The biggest FCPA resolutions yearly show enormous variation and no predictable pattern. Although four of the biggest cases for each of the past ten years settled for more than $1 billion, with an overall average settlement size for the ten cases of about $996 million, a couple of years were laggards.… Continue Reading
Corporate subsidiaries only act on someone else’s say so. The drafters of the FCPA knew that, and that’s why the FCPA prohibits offering to pay, paying, promising to pay, or authorizing the payment of money or anything of value to a foreign official for an improper purpose.… Continue Reading
Oil and gas pipe manufacturer Tenaris paid the SEC $78 million Thursday to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by providing improper payments to a Petrobras official in Brazil.… Continue Reading
When Switzerland-based Glencore paid the DOJ $700 million last week to settle widespread FCPA offenses, it earned a place on our FCPA top ten list, replacing a French bank and leaving Goldman Sachs as the only other bank currently on the list.… Continue Reading
They are so familiar to those of us who follow FCPA enforcement actions that we’re likely to stop noticing them. Petrobras in Brazil, Corpoelec and PDVSA in Venezuela, Pemex and CFE in Mexico, Takilant in Uzbekistan, Sonangol in Angola, Alba in Bahrain, Telecommunications D’Haiti, 1MDB in Malaysia, and Pertamina in Indonesia.… Continue Reading
It’s a strange scenario. How did London-based Amec Foster Wheeler (AFW) end up with agents in three different countries for a single, relatively small project in Brazil — including two agents disqualified by AFW’s due diligence and a third agent that AFW thought had lost influence?… Continue Reading
Amec Foster Wheeler Energy Limited agreed Friday with the DOJ and SEC to pay about $41 million in penalties and disgorgement to resolve FCPA offenses in Brazil.… Continue Reading
We’ve tabulated all countries reported in connection with the ten enforcement actions that comprise the latest FCPA Blog Top Ten list. Twenty-six different countries appear. Four of those countries are mentioned three times, and three appear twice.… Continue Reading
Vitol Inc., the U.S. affiliate of Geneva-based Vitol group, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice Thursday to settle two charges that it conspired to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA by bribing officials in Brazil, Ecuador, and Mexico.… Continue Reading
I recently conducted a virtual training session, during which I displayed a slide showing the top ten FCPA fines and penalties in history. A curious attendee asked whether my figures represent the DOJ and SEC’s gross penalties or the amounts that companies were actually obliged to pay to the U.S.… Continue Reading
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. shattered our top ten list with a $3.3 billion FCPA settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission, sending it straight to number one.… Continue Reading