FCPAméricas Blog
Three Lessons from Jack Abramoff for FCPA Counsel
12.29.2011
Jack Abramoff was convicted in 2006 of fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy to bribe public officials and served three and a half years in prison. He is the lobbyist notoriously known as the face of corruption in Washington, DC. Now released from prison, he was recently interviewed by Harvard’s Edmond Safra Center for Ethics (watch the video here). In this interview, he discusses in detail how corruption works in the U.S. capital (FCPAméricas has previously highlighted that corruption is not just a non-U.S. phenomenon).
Three of Mr. Abramoff’s lessons have relevance to FCPA counsel.
1. Payments to Political Parties and Charities: “[Elected] members are not asking for contributions to something they are disinterested in.”
The FCPA extends to payments to political parties. 15 U.S.C. §§ 78dd-1(a)(2), 78dd-2(a)(2), 78dd-3(a)(2). Enforcement also takes the position that charitable contributions to bona fine charities c... Read more
What Keeps Latin America Compliance Counsel Up at Night
12.27.2011
When I launched my own FCPA law practice, I quickly learned the most important question to ask clients: “What keeps you up at night?”
For the General Counsel with whom I speak, more often than not the answer is – “the FCPA.” Compliance officers with responsibility for FCPA issues get more specific.
Over the last six or so months, I have had the opportunity to discuss this question with numerous compliance counsel who oversee Latin America. They have come from a wide range of industries and sectors, including technology, mining, oil and gas, defense, chemicals, transportation, financial services, and agriculture. A few general themes have emerged from these discussions.
1. Third Party Risk – It is commonly known that implementing a program to effectively vet a company’s consultants, agents, distributors, and other third parties for corruption risk, and monitor them on an ongoing basis, can be a monumental task. In an era of heightened risk, compliance officers throughout the world struggle with it.
But the risk merits this work. In fact, several cases in Latin America have involved third parties. Alcatel-Lucent in Costa ... Read more
Cultural Considerations and the FCPA: Part 2 (Compliance)
12.22.2011
Do considerations of culture have a place in the FCPA? Yes and no – it depends on the context. Part 1 of this blog post discusses culture’s role in enforcement. Part 2 (below) discusses its role in compliance.
Part II. Compliance. While cultural norms have no relevance in enforcement (see Part 1), they have an important place in compliance. In fact, grounding compliance policies in local cultures can be vital to building a successful global program. Consider these three areas:
1. Emphasize Local Laws in Compliance. Any employee of a company subject to the FCPA can create liability for the company by paying bribes, no matter how far away from the United States the employee resides. The problem is that, the further away from the United States the employee sits, the more abstract, foreign, and insignificant the FCPA c... Read more
