The internal investigation has turned up evidence of suspect payments in countries beyond China.
Companies that pay taxes to the government could count as “instrumentalities” under the Justice Department’s understanding of the law, defense lawyers said.
Rockwell previously disclosed the matter, which involved civil violations of the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions by one of the company’s former subsidiaries in China, to the SEC.
In August 2010, SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. disclosed that the SEC and the Justice Department are investigating it for potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
The executives had previously been placed on administrative leave.
The DOJ’s Criminal Fraud Section and the SEC are investigating at least five other major pharmaceutical companies: GlaxoSmithKline PLC; Baxter International Inc.; Eli Lilly & Co.; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.; and Merck & Co.
The case has the trappings of an FCPA soap opera: previously undisclosed documents revealing internal DOJ disagreements over the case, squabbling between a major Washington firm and local counsel over legal fees, and the future of a man described by his attorney as a “whistleblower.”
The Justice Department fired back again at defense lawyers’ attempts to limit the scope of a key foreign bribery law and said such attempts unjustifiably transform a fact-based question into a sweeping legal one.
Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York have joined the investigation, as more than a dozen top law firms have been hired to represent executives at the company.
The company paid $300,000 last year to settle foreign bribery charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Accusations from across the world illustrate the global reach of a gambling corporation.
Some of the around $207,000 in bribes the company paid in South Korea were delivered in shopping bags stuffed with cash, the SEC said.
A case that has already spawned many questions of law gives rise to yet another.
The civil employment suit against the company appears to have led to a criminal investigation by the Justice Department and SEC into potential FCPA violations.
Press reports about the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act have been alarmist, a British official says.
ERNST & YOUNG LLP's BRIAN LOUGHMAN ON TRENDS IN GLOBAL FORENSIC ACCOUNTING: Loughman, the Americas leader of Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services, discusses how increased government enforcement, awareness of corruption risk and an emphasis on proactive compliance assessments by corporations is driving double-digit growth in the New York-based practice he leads.
FCPA TRIAL FIRM OF THE YEAR: Finalists are announced in Main Justice's 2013 Best FCPA Lawyer Client Service Awards category, Trial Firm of the Year. The diamond award went to Eric Bruce and Matt Menchel of Kobre & Kim LLP for their defense of two FCPA sting trial defendants.
Mary Jacoby is the founder of Main Justice and Editor-in-Chief of Just Anti-Corruption.
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- Owner of Louisiana-based Health Care Company Sentenced in Texas to 97 Months in Prison in Connection with $6.7 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme
- Former University Professor Charged in California with Engaging in Sexual Conduct with Minors and Producing Child Pornography
- Axius CEO Roland Kaufmann Sentenced for Conspiracy to Pay Bribes in Stock Sales
- Former Security Contractor Executives Sentenced for Illegally Obtaining More Than $31 Million Intended for Disadvantaged Small Businesses
- Philadelphia Drug Kingpin Sentenced to Death, Co-defendant to Face Life in Prison
- Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra Associate Pleads Guilty to Loan Sharking
- County Commissioner Sentenced for Attempted Extortion and Bribery
- Managing Partner of U.S. Broker-Dealer Charged in Manhattan Federal Court with Participating in Massive International Bribery Scheme
- Former Chief Executive of Mortgage Servicing Company Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud for Scheme to Withhold Funds from Wells Fargo Bank
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