Mike Koehler, Author at FCPA Professor

It Has Been A While Since A DOJ FCPA Opinion Was Released

By Mike Koehler on October 18, 2019 in Opinion Procedure Release

The FCPA, when enacted, directed the Attorney General to establish a procedure to provide responses to specific inquiries by those subject to the FCPA concerning conformance of their conduct with the DOJ’s “present enforcement policy.”

However, it’s been a while since a DOJ FCPA opinion was released. To be specific, the last time the DOJ issued a so-called FCPA opinion procedure release was November 7, 2014. This approximate five year gap represents the longest gap in the history of the program.

This post provides a general overview of the DOJ’s FCPA Opinion Procedure Release Program and highlights reasons why it has largely been viewed as a useless program despite DOJ efforts (including recently) to encourage greater use.

What Should Happen When Compliance Is Ignored?

By Mike Koehler on October 17, 2019 in Barclays, Compliance Defense, Internal Controls, Uncategorized

The recent Barclays Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action was based on alleged improper internship and hiring practices (see here and here for prior posts).

In the enforcement action, the SEC acknowledged that the company had several compliance policies and procedures to mitigate risk in this area.

For instance, the SEC stated: “Barclays promulgated anti-bribery and corruption policies that included prohibitions on providing employment in exchange for business.”

SEC Injunctions: A New Standard?

By Mike Koehler on October 16, 2019 in Guest Posts, Injunction, Kokesh

Several Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions brought by the SEC have included an “obey-the-law” injunction as a condition of settlement. In the below guest post, Thomas Gorman (Dorsey & Whitney) discusses a recent Third Circuit opinion challenging the imposition of such an injunction.

The post originally appeared on Gorman’s informative SEC Actions blog and is reproduced below with permission.

Invoice Schemes

By Mike Koehler on October 15, 2019 in Invoice Schemes

“Pots of money” need to be created within a business organization to fund a bribery scheme. In the Quad/Graphics enforcement action, a “pot of money” was created through an invoicing scheme as the SEC found in connection with “bribery to secure sales in Peru” that “improper payments were made through four purported third party vendors, which were sham companies owned by the same individual (“Sham Vendors”).

Attorney General Barr Discusses The DOJ’s Cooperation And Coordination With The SEC

By Mike Koehler on October 14, 2019 in DOJ “Piling On” Policy, Enforcement Agency Policy, Enforcement Agency Speeches, Gray Cloud

The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are separate law enforcement agencies.

However, in certain areas – including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act – the law enforcement agencies often work together.

In this recent speech, Attorney General William Barr discussed the DOJ’s cooperation and coordination with the SEC.

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It Has Been A While Since A DOJ FCPA Opinion Was Released

What Should Happen When Compliance Is Ignored?

SEC Injunctions: A New Standard?

Invoice Schemes

Attorney General Barr Discusses The DOJ’s Cooperation And Coordination With The SEC

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