Can the enforcement agencies on both sides of the Atlantic say with a straight face that this case was merely about improper record keeping, making false statements to the government, and export licenses?
The latest developments in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement reflect substantial changes in anti-corruption enforcement priorities and techniques that all international businesses need to consider.
The company leveled the charges in a false claims suit.
Can the enforcement agencies on both sides of the Atlantic say with a straight face that this case was merely about improper record keeping, making false statements to the government, and export licenses?
The government’s intriguing reference to “historic deals” suggests evidence of corruption beyond the charged conduct of the 22 military supply executives, who were indicted under seal in December.
A February report by a Senate subcommittee depicts the African country of Gabon as one where corrupt deals with government officials are not uncommon.
Investigators have private financial records that appear to show bribes paid to the personal bank account of a former senior executive with a Bahrain-owned aluminum company, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The judge in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act “sting” case said Tuesday that any trials for the case will likely not be completed before the end of 2010. UPDATED: 6:20 p.m.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act king stands to make millions in private practice. His top assistant could assume the mantle. UPDATED 8:00 p.m.
Attorney General Eric Holder’s comments were primarily focused on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s 1997 Anti-Bribery Convention.
According the report, the Justice Department has brought 27 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions as of June 30.
British defense contractor BAE faced action from both the Justice Department and the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, as did Delaware-based chemicals manufacturer Innospec. When German engineering giant Siemens faced enforcement from Justice, it also was under the thumb of Germany’s Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Under the U.K. agreement, BAE will pay £30 million to Tanzania. In return, the SFO will end its investigation into widespread allegations of BAE bribery and corruption around the world.
The DOJ Antitrust Division’s successful corporate leniency policy is used to get price-fixing conspirators to rat each other out. It isn’t clear there is the same leverage for DOJ in a similar policy for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases.
Two high-profile investigations into European defense contractors have spurred action to restrict controversial offset agreements that are made as part of arms deals.
“I will be very rigorous and thorough in what I’m doing, and my independence is key,” the new monitor told Just Anti-Corruption. “I would not have accepted the job had the company not assured me that my independence was guaranteed.”
FCPA news from around the blogosphere for Thursday, September 2.
The U.K. lawyer selected as a corporate monitor to BAE Systems plc. tells Just Anti-Corruption he had no involvement in his firm’s representation of the Saudi prince and former ambassador to the U.S., who was accused of soliciting bribes from the defense contractor.
Judge Richard Leon in Washington threatened to suspend proceedings if new FBI notes about the government’s cooperating witness turn up.
The former vice president for international sales at Florida-based Armor Holdings entered his guilty plea in D.C. federal court Thursday. UPDATED: 6:22 p.m. Photos inside.
The United Kingdom’s new Bribery Law offers lays out rigorous standards, yet calls for constant flexibility. What will that mean in the real world?
“Corruption is universal, and one has to be very careful when one takes a very righteous position,” a U.N. official said.
In a world where the term “too big to fail” has become familiar, is BAE Systems too big to avoid doing business with?
An FBI undercover operation that netted 22 indictments of individuals last year led prosecutors to open a wider criminal probe of the industry. Companies are likely to be charged, people familiar with the matter say.
The Justice Department and BAE Systems Plc. have been battling since June over the length of time a compliance monitor will advise the company. UPDATED: 2:47 p.m.
The U.S. Justice Department’s FCPA investigation of corruption in the international defense supply industry is shining a light on the role Israeli brokers played in preparing the Caucasian republic of Georgia go to war against Russia in 2008. Georgian Ministry of Defense officials allegedly accepted bribes to purchase 21 million rounds of ammunition from a U.S. source. Three defendants in the FBI’s massive FCPA sting case are implicated.
Remarks by Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer at the 24th National Foreign Corrupt Practices Act conference.
Nine months after BAE Systems Plc, agreed to pay around $450 million to settle charges related to a massive bribery scheme brought by authorities in the United States and United Kingdom, a U.K. court is finally reviewing the agreement.
In the 2008 meeting, Britain’s Prince Andrew also “railed at British anti-corruption investigators, who had had the ‘idiocy’ of almost scuttling the [BAE Systems plc] Al-Yamama deal with Saudi Arabia.”
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Greg Andres appeared before a Senate panel Tuesday.
TRENDS IN FCPA INVESTIGATIONS
Richard Sibery of Ernst & Young LLP's Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services practice for the Americas discusses the UK Bribery Act, the heightened interest of local authorities around the world in conducting anti-corruption probes, and the new focus on private equity.
- Houston Patient Recruiter Convicted in $1.1 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme
- Former Chairman and CEO of Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Foreign Bribery and Kickback Schemes
- Wife of Former Army Major Sentenced to 72 Months in Prison for Role in Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme Related to Dod Contracts
- Assistant Administrator of Houston Hospital Pleads Guilty to Participating in $116 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida-Area Halfway House Operator Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Participating in Fraud and Kickback Scheme
- MS-13 Gang Leader in San Francisco Sentenced to Life in Prison
- Former New England La Cosa Nostra Mob Boss, Capo and Associates to Plead Guilty in Rhode Island for Racketeering Activity
- Barrio Azteca Gang Leader Sentenced in Texas to Life in Prison
- Two Houston-Area Nurses Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Prison for Roles in $5.2 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme
- U.S. Army Reserves Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the United States Related to Contracting in Support of Iraq War
- Anti-Corruption Portal of the Americas
- City of London Police
- GRECO
- Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Pacer (U.S. Court Documents)
- State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
- TRACE International
- Transparency International
- U.K. Courts
- U.K. Ministry of Justice
- U.K. Office of Fair Trading
- U.K. Serious Fraud Office
- U.S. Department of Justice
- U.S. Department of Justice FCPA Page
- U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
- U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
- U.S. House Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
- U.S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Releases
- U.S. Senate Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
- United Nations Convention Against Corruption
- World Bank Governance and Anti-Corruption
- World Economic Forum - Corruption Initiative