Checking in on the back and forth between the DOJ and Judge Nicholas Garaufis (E.D.N.Y.).
In 2024, the DOJ criminally charged various individuals in connection with an alleged Indian bribery scheme. (See here for the prior post).
In mid-August, Judge Nicholas Garaufis (E.D.N.Y.) – after much back and forth with the DOJ – granted the DOJ’s motion to dismiss various non-FCPA fraud charges against certain defendants.
However, Judge Garaufis denied the motion to dismiss FCPA [Count One] and obstruction charges [Count Five] against certain other defendants (see here for the prior post) while noting “the court’s conclusion does not mean that additional evidence to support […] proffered reason to dismiss does not exist. It means only that the factual support that McCotter has provided is not sufficient.”
The back and forth continued (see here) and on September 3rd Judge Garaufis again denied the DOJ’s motion to dismiss FCPA and obstruction charges against certain other defendants. (See here).
In late September, the DOJ filed a petition in the Second Circuit requesting “that the Court swiftly issue a writ of mandamus directing [Judge Garaufis] to grant the government’s motion to dismiss the remaining counts of the indictment with prejudice.”
As highlighted in this prior post, in 2012 BizJet resolved an $11.8 million FCPA enforcement action “for bribing government officials in Latin America to secure contracts to perform aircraft services for government agencies.”
Jald Jensen (a Sales Manager at BizJet International Sales and Support Inc. – a Tulsa, Oklahoma based provider of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services) was among a group of individuals criminally charged with FCPA offenses in connection with the same core conduct.
Jensen evaded law enforcement for approximately thirteen years, but as highlighted in this recent post was arrested earlier this year in Panama and extradited to the U.S.
Last week, Jensen pleaded guilty in the N.D. of Oklahoma to conspiracy to violate the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions.
In October 2022, Charles Finkel was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the S.D. of New York with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations in connection with an alleged bribery scheme in Brazil.
Finkel was a former executive at Sicpa (a Swiss technology company which provides governments with banknote security inks and secured identification, traceability and authentication solutions).
The criminal complaint stated:
“This case involves a bribery scheme to pay, among others, a Brazilian official (Official- 1) in exchange for lucrative business and business advantages with the Brazilian government. During portions of the relevant time period, Finkel was an executive vice president of Subsidiary- 1, a subsidiary of Company- 1, and the owner of his own consulting firm, Finkel Company- 1, which received over $292 million in payments from Company- 1 and its subsidiaries and affiliates. During the course of the scheme, Finkel paid bribes of over $14 million to Official- 1 and Official- l ‘ s wife (CC- 1) in order to corruptly obtain and retain contracts worth over $1 billion between Subsidiary- 1 and the Brazilian Mint, referred to as the CMB . The vehicle for paying the bribes to Official- 1 was a purported consulting company (i .e. Consulting Company- 1) set up in the name of Official- l ‘ s wife. Finkel furthered the scheme while present in New York, New York, among other places, and caused wire transfers in furtherance of the scheme to be sent from New York, New York to Brazil.”
Set forth below is the current top ten corporate FCPA settlements of all-time actually secured by U.S. law enforcement (in other words net FCPA settlement amounts).
Unlike certain other lists, the below list is calculated after consistently accounting for certain credits or deductions in several enforcement actions involving foreign companies and/or related foreign law enforcement actions.
1. Goldman Sachs
In certain SEC filings, issuers disclose a wide variety of risk factors which could impact its business.
These risk factors often follow a template like structure and may not be the most entertaining read.
Nevertheless, it is sometime interesting to look at the risk factors including any mention of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to see what issuers are saying.
Bambusa Therapeutics, Inc. is a “clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation, long-acting precision bispecific antibodies designed to redefine standards of care in immunology and inflammation and fundamentally improve patient quality of life.”
Its recent Registration Statement in advance of an initial public offering disclosed the following risk: