FCPA Professor has been described as “the Wall Street Journal concerning all things FCPA-related,” and “the most authoritative source for those seeking to understand and apply the FCPA.”
Set forth below are the topics discussed this week on FCPA Professor.
This post highlights additional issues to consider from the recent Deutsche Bank enforcement action.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has always been a law much broader than its name suggests. Sure, the FCPA contains anti-bribery provisions which concern foreign bribery. Sure, the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions can be implicated in foreign bribery schemes.
However, the fact remains that most FCPA enforcement actions (that is enforcement actions that charge or find violations of the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions) have nothing to do with foreign bribery and these provisions are among the most generic legal provisions one can possibly find.
Case in point is this recent SEC enforcement action against Gulfport Energy Corporation.
As highlighted in this prior post, in 2013 Philips (a Netherlands-based company with shares listed on the NYSE) resolved a $4.5 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action concerning conduct in Poland.
As highlighted in this prior post, in 2019 the company again became the subject of the FCPA scrutiny – this time concerning conduct in Brazil and China.
As highlighted below, Philips recently disclosed that its conduct in another country is also under scrutiny.
In the minds of some, companies that have resolved Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions are bad or unethical companies.
It is a tempting position to take. After all, the FCPA is about bribery and corruption.
However, it is a wrong position to take in many (but certainly not all) instances.
This previous post detailed the recent $122.6 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action against Deutsche Bank based on the company’s “improper use … of third party-intermediaries, business development consultants, and findings (BDCs) to obtain and retain global business.”
This post continues the analysis by highlighting additional issues to consider.
How Much And Which Type Of Internal Controls Are Specifically Legally Required?
