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In A Case That Keeps On Giving, The DOJ Announces Unsealing Of 2015 Indictment Against Former Alstom And Marubeni Executives

By on February 19, 2020 in 2020 Enforcement Action, ALSTOM, Eko Sulianto, Foreign Nationals, Individual Enforcement Action, Indonesia, Junji Kusunoki, Jurisdiction, Marubeni Corp., Reza Moenaf
Alstom

In mid-2013, the DOJ announced that various current and former of Alstom resolved a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action in connection with the Tarahan power project in Indonesia. The underlying charging documents were from 2012. (See here). Thereafter, in 2013 additional individuals associated with Alstom were also charged (see here and here) including Lawrence Hoskins who was found guilty at trial in 2019. (See here).

In early-2014, Marubeni (a consortium partner of Alstom on the Tarahan project) resolved an FCPA enforcement action. (See here and here). In late 2014, Alstom resolved an FCPA enforcement action regarding alleged conduct around the world including in Indonesia in connection Tarahan power contract. (See here and here).

Yesterday, the DOJ announced the unsealing of this 2015 indictment charging Reza Moenaf (the former president of Alstom’s subsidiary in Indonesia), Eko Sulianto (the former director of sales of Alstom’s subsidiary in Indonesia) and Junji Kusunoki (the former deputy general manager of Marubeni’s Overseas Power Project Department) with conspiracy to violate the FCPA and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with the same core allegations found in the previous enforcement actions.

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FCPA Flash – A Conversation With FCPA Violator Frederic Pierucci Regarding FCPA Enforcement Against European Companies

By on March 5, 2019 in ALSTOM, FCPA Flash, Foreign Issuers, Foreign Non-Issuer Company, Frederic Pierucci, Jurisdiction
Podcast Logo

The FCPA Flash podcast provides in an audio format the same fresh, candid, and informed commentary about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and related topics as readers have come to expect from written posts on FCPA Professor.

This FCPA Flash episode is a conversation with Frederic Pierucci. In April 2013, Pierucci (a French national) was among a group of current or former Alstom executives criminally charged in connection with an alleged bribery scheme in Indonesia. Pierucci ultimately plead guilty to FCPA offenses. Upon release from U.S. prison, Pierucci authored a book titled “The American Trap.” During the podcast, Pierucci talks about his book, what motivated him to write the book, and his views that the FCPA is a “tool to destabilize” European companies and how the U.S.’s use of the FCPA is like “underground economic warfare.” During the podcast, I take issue with certain of Pierucci’s comments (for instance 7 U.S. companies have resolved FCPA enforcement actions over $100 million not the number Pierucci suggests) and the podcast contains a good back-and-forth discussion.

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Friday Roundup

By on December 21, 2018 in Acacia Mining, Airbus, ALSTOM, Barrick Gold Corp., Canada, Collateral Effects, Compliance, Glencore, Goldman Sachs, Gray Cloud, Nicholas Reynolds, Related Foreign Investigations, Serious Fraud Office, SNC Lavalin, United Kingdom
Roundup

Consistently damaged, across the pond, scrutiny alerts and updates, and for the reading stack. It’s all here in the Friday roundup.

“Consistently Damaged”

In this 12 minute video, Neil Bruce (CEO and President of SNC-Lavalin) describes his frustration for how the company is not being offered a remediation agreement (Canada’s term for a deferred prosecution agreement) in connection with its long-standing scrutiny. (See here and here for prior posts).

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Friday Roundup

By on January 5, 2018 in ALSTOM, Bombardier, Canada, Ciena Corp, Collateral Effects, Eberhard Reichert, ISO 37001, Joo Hyun Bahn, Larry Kushniruk, Petrobras, Related Civil Litigation, SEC, Siemens Argentina Enforcement Action
Roundup

Guilty plea, Petrobras civil settlement, Alstom is done reporting, scrutiny alert, SEC FCPA enforcement, from the docket, checking in up north, and for the reading stack. It’s all here in the Friday roundup.

Guilty Plea

As highlighted in this prior post, in January 2017 the DOJ announced an FCPA and related enforcement action against four individuals for their roles in a scheme to pay $2.5 million in bribes to facilitate the $800 million sale of a commercial building in Vietnam (the so-called Landmark 72) to a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund.

Today, the DOJ announced: “Joo Hyun Bahn, aka Dennis Bahn, 39, of Tenafly, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in federal court in Manhattan to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and one count of violating the FCPA.  U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos of the Southern District of New York accepted the guilty plea.  Sentencing is scheduled for June 29 …”.

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U.K. Serious Fraud Office Announces Corruption Charges Against Individual Well-Known In The Compliance Community

By on May 13, 2015 in ALSTOM, Jean-Daniel Lainé, Michael John Anderson, Serious Fraud Office, United Kingdom
Surprise

Talk about a head-scratching moment.

If you are even an occasional attendee or participant of anti-bribery and corruption conferences you likely know or recognize Jean-Daniel Lainé who, prior to his retirement in April 2013, was Senior Vice President Ethics & Compliance, and a director of Alstom International Limited.  Laine currently runs jdl.ethiconsult.

As highlighted in this 2010 article, “since 2006, Laine has overseen the rapid development of Alstom’s compliance and ethics programmes, as the threat of corruption investigations has risen up the agenda for companies around the world.”

The article quotes him as follows. “I know a lot of my peers in the compliance community. I participate in a lot of conferences on the anti-corruption subject. I have the opportunity to review all these topics and issues, and I consider that we are among the best in class.”

Among other things, Laine co-authored the Risk Assessment Chapter of the International Chamber of Commerce’s Ethics and Compliance Training Handbook (see here for a video interview) and Laine was a frequent writer on compliance topics, see here for instance “How Do You Manage Third Party Relationship Risks?”

Against this backdrop, it comes as a shocker to say the least that yesterday the U.K. Serious Fraud Office announced:

“Mr Lainé, 68, … a French national … attended court to answer two charges of corruption contrary to section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906, as well as two offences of conspiracy to corrupt contrary to section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977. The alleged offences are said to have taken place between 1 January 2006 and 18 October 2007 and concern the supply of trains to the Budapest Metro.”

As noted in the SFO release, also charged was Michael John Anderson and named as a co-conspirator with Mr Anderson and Mr Lainé is Altan Cledwyn-Davies, director and company secretary of Alstom International Ltd. Mr Cledwyn-Davies died in 2010 before charges were brought.

As further noted in the SFO release:

“In July 2014 the SFO charged Alstom Network UK Ltd, and British nationals Graham Hill and Robert Hallett with corruption in India, Poland and Tunisia. That matter awaits trial in May 2016. In addition, the SFO charged Alstom Power Ltd, Nicholas Reynolds and Johanes Venskus with corruption in Lithuania. That matter awaits trial in January 2017.”

See prior posts here and here for recent Alstom-related enforcement actions in the U.S.

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