A Closer Look At The Comcel Enforcement Action
This previous post briefly highlighted the FCPA enforcement action against Comunicaciones Celulares S.A. (“Comcel”), a subsidiary of Millicom International Cellular, S.A. (“Millicom” – a telecommunications company incorporated and headquartered in Luxembourg with its principal place of business in Florida).
This post takes a closer look at the $118.2 million enforcement action.
In terms of background, Comcel was doing business as TIGO Guatemala and was a mobile and fixed telecommunications service provider with its principal place of business in Guatemala. During the relevant period, TIGO Guatemala was jointly owned by Millicom (55%) and a Panamanian company (“Panama Company” (45%) (Telecomunicaciones Digitales, S.A. (Cable Onda or Tigo Panama).
On or about November 12, 2021 , Millicom purchased Panama Company’s share of TIGO Guatemala for approximately $2.2 billion. Since then, TIGO Guatemala has been wholly-owned by Millicom.
Individual Pleads Guilty To FCPA Offense … Of Some Sort
Many Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions are accompanied by DOJ or SEC press releases.
Others just randomly appear on a court docket waiting for someone to notice.
In the later category, MLex recently noticed an FCPA enforcement action against Carlos Leopoldo Alvelais Alarcon.
The court docket contains some information, but not much.
This much is known.
Smartmatic Criminally Charged With FCPA And Related Offenses
In August 2024, the DOJ announced that a “federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment … charging three executives of an election voting machine and service provider company and a former Chairman of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) of the Republic of the Philippines for their roles in an alleged bribery and money laundering scheme to retain and obtain business related to the 2016 Philippine elections. […] These bribes were allegedly paid to obtain and retain business related to providing voting machines and election services for the 2016 Philippine elections and to secure payments on the contracts, including the release of value added tax payments.”
Although not mentioned in the indictment, the company at issue was Smartmatic (and related entities).
DOJ Alleges Mexican Bribery Scheme Involving PEMEX
Earlier this week the DOJ announced a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action concerning an alleged bribery scheme in Mexico.
The indictment charges Ramon Alexandro Rovirosa Martinez (a citizen of Mexico and a lawful permanent resident of Texas) and Mario Alberto Avila Lizarraga (a citizen of Mexico and lawful permanent resident of Texas) for their roles in an alleged bribery scheme to retain and obtain business related to Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), the state-owned oil company of Mexico, and PEMEX Exploración y Producción (PEP), PEMEX’s wholly owned exploration and production subsidiary.
Rovirosa and Avila are associated with various Mexican companies that operated in the oil and gas industry. (See here).
Liberty Mutual Resolves $4.7 Million Enforcement Action
The DOJ recently released this so-called declination with disgorgement letter regarding Liberty Mutual Insurance.
The letter begins:
“Consistent with the Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy, the Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts (collectively, the “Government”) have declined prosecution of your client, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (“Liberty Mutual” or the “Company”), a global insurance company with its principal place of business in the United States, for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 78dd-2. We have reached this conclusion despite evidence of bribery committed by certain employees of the Company’s subsidiary in India who were acting as agents of the Company.”