The FCPA Repeat Offender Club Welcomes Tenaris
In 2011, Tenaris S.A. (a company headquartered in Luxembourg with American Depository Receipts listed on the New York Stock Exchange) resolved an approximate $9 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action regarding conduct in Uzbekistan (see here for the prior post).
For several years, Tenaris has been under scrutiny for its relationship with Petrobras in Brazil and in October 2016 the company “voluntarily notified” the SEC and DOJ. (See here).
Yesterday, the FCPA Repeat Offender Club welcomed Tenaris to its growing membership as the SEC announced an approximate $78.1 million enforcement action against the company.
Glencore Resolves An Approximately $443 Million Net FCPA Enforcement Action
In mid-2018 Glencore (a commodities company incorporated in the United Kingdom and headquartered in Switzerland disclosed that it was under scrutiny by the DOJ. (See here for the prior post).
Specifically, the company disclosed:
“Glencore Ltd, a subsidiary of Glencore plc, has received a subpoena dated 2 July, 2018 from the US Department of Justice to produce documents and other records with respect to compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and United States money laundering statutes. The requested documents relate to the Glencore Group’s business in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Venezuela from 2007 to present. Glencore is reviewing the subpoena and will provide further information in due course as appropriate.”
Stericyle Resolves A Net $59 Million FCPA Enforcement Action
Stericycle (an Illinois based medical waste disposal company) has been under FCPA scrutiny since mid-2017 (See here).
As highlighted here, approximately two months ago the company disclosed that it had “reached agreements in principle with the DOJ and SEC.” Specifically, Stericycle disclosed:
Yesterday, the DOJ and SEC announced (here and here) a parallel FCPA enforcement action against Stericycle.
The DOJ enforcement action involved this criminal information charging Stericycle with two counts of conspiracy to violate (1) the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions, and (2) the FCPA’s books and records provision. The criminal charges were resolved via this deferred prosecution agreement pursuant to which Stericycle agreed to pay a net $35 million criminal penalty.
The SEC enforcement action involved this administrative order finding that Stericycle violated the FCPA’s anti-bribery, books and records, and internal controls provisions pursuant to which the company agreed to pay a net approximate $24 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest.
Another Former Corsa Coal Executive Charged In Connection With Egypt Bribery Scheme
As highlighted in this prior post, in 2021 Frederick Cushmore Jr. (a former executive of Pennsylvania-based coal mining company Corsa Coal Corp.) was criminally charged and pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge to violate the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions in connection with a bribery scheme in Egypt involving Al Nasr Company for Coke and Chemicals (“Al Nasr” or “NCCC” – an alleged Egyptian state-owned and state-controlled entity and a subsidiary of Metallurgical Industries Holding Company, which was owned and controlled by the Egyptian government).
Today, the DOJ announced that Charles Hunter Hobson (pictured) was also criminally charged in connection with the same core conduct. According to his LinkedIn page, Hobson served in a variety of roles at Corsa Coal from 2013 to 2018. (See also here).
DOJ Quietly Releases “Declination With Disgorgement” Letter Involving JLT
This March 15th post discussed a future $29 million “declination with disgorgement” enforcement action disclosed by Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. in connection with its 2019 acquisition of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc (JLT).
On March 22nd, the DOJ quietly updated its FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy declinations page by posting the March 18th “declination with disgorgement” letter.
The last time the DOJ self-identified an FCPA enforcement action as a “declination” was approximately 1.5 years ago (in August 2020).