FCPAméricas Blog
Living the Cliché at PetroTiger
2.06.2014
The DOJ’s PetroTiger press release reads like an overblown caricature of an FCPA case: top executives of an oil and gas company formed in the British Virgin Islands, with offices in New Jersey and operations in Colombia, allegedly paid approximately $250,000 to a Colombian government official in exchange for lucrative government contracts. It is tempting to add: well, obviously.
But stereotypes are untrustworthy shortcuts, and the DOJ and SEC give credit to companies with risk-based – not stereotype-based – FCPA compliance programs. With that in mind, this blog post looks at some red flags apparent in this case, and at a novel issue that it presents.
But first, the basics: on January 6, federal prosecutors unsealed... Read more
The Master List of Third Party Corruption Red Flags
2.04.2014
Under the FCPA, companies and individuals can be liable for the bribes that their agents, consultants, sales representatives, distributors, lawyers, accountants, brokers, and other third party intermediaries make to foreign officials on their behalf. Specifically, the FCPA applies to “indirect” payments as well as “direct” ones.
To mitigate this risk, companies are expected to conduct integrity due diligence on their third parties and monitor their activities, described by FCPAméricas in these posts. Companies are also expected to equip their work forces to recognize the red flags of corruption related to the third par... Read more
A Seat at the Table: Alternatives to restitution for FCPA victims
2.01.2014
Corruption is not a victimless crime, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at the enforcement of international bribery laws. A recent study published by the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative found that out of 395 corruption settlements worldwide between 1999 and 2012, $6.9 billion in monetary sanctions were imposed. But of that total, only $197 million – just 3.3% – was ordered returned to the country whose official was involved.
To its credit, the U.S. is responsible for a disproportionate number of these enforcement actions. But as discussed in prior pos... Read more
