AstraZeneca Archives - FCPA Professor

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By Mike Koehler on August 3, 2018 in AstraZeneca, Disgorgement, Hiring Family Members of Foreign Officials, SBM Offshore, Statute of Limitations, Wal-Mart

Impasse, quotable, scrutiny alerts, um excuse me but, and for the reading stack. It’s all here in the Friday roundup.

Impasse

Walmart’s FCPA scrutiny began in late 2011. Yet, nearly seven years later there still has not been an enforcement action.

Bloomberg reports: “Walmart Inc. set aside nearly $300 million last fall for a possible resolution with the U.S. government over international bribery allegations, a sign that an end to the years-long investigation was imminent. But eight months later, the sides are deadlocked, three people familiar with the matter said. It’s not about the money: One source of tension is prosecutors’ insistence that Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, admit to certain misconduct as part of any deal, one of the people said.”

Plaintiffs Allege Harm At The Hands Of Terrorist Group Funded In Part By Corrupt Sales Practices Of Various Multinational Companies

By Mike Koehler on November 2, 2017 in AstraZeneca, General Electric, Iraq, Iraq Oil For Food, Johnson and Johnson, Offensive Use of FCPA, Pfizer, Related Civil Litigation, Roche

Various courts have held that the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act does not confer a private right of action. However, as highlighted in “FCPA Ripples” and several other posts on this website, private plaintiffs with increasing frequency are using allegations of corruption to allege other substantive causes of action in what amounts to “offensive use” of the FCPA and related topics.

Recently, American service members and civilians and their families who were killed or wounded while serving in Iraq filed this 203 page civil complaint against AstraZeneca, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Roche claiming that the companies’ alleged acts of corruption in Iraq present viable civil claims under the federal Anti-Terrorism Act and for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Specifically, the plaintiffs allege that they or their family members were attacked by a terrorist group (Jaysh al-Mahdi) funded in part by the defendants’ corrupt sales practices.

Friday Roundup

By Mike Koehler on September 9, 2016 in AstraZeneca, Australia, Cisco, Deferred Prosecution Agreements, Fine / Penalty Issues, Foreign Issuers, LAN / LATAM Airlines, Louis Berger International, Related Civil Litigation, Richard Hirsch, Undercover Investigations, United Kingdom

No comment, scrutiny alert, when the obvious is not so obvious, quotable, undercover, follow-up, and for the reading stack. It’s all here in the Friday roundup.

No Comment

The recent FCPA enforcement action against Chile-based LAN Airlines (in which the company paid $22 million to resolve DOJ and SEC enforcement actions concerning an alleged payment to resolve an Argentina labor dispute) suggested that both Argentine and Chilean law enforcement officials had commenced investigations of the conduct approximately five years ago.

I’ve tried to find information in the public domain regarding these apparent law enforcement investigations but have generally struck out.

For instance, I contacted LAN’s investor relations office and posed the following question:

Issues To Consider From The AstraZeneca Enforcement Action

By Mike Koehler on September 2, 2016 in AstraZeneca, China, Disgorgement, Gray Cloud, Healthcare Providers As Foreign Officials, Travel and Entertainment

This post summarized the recent SEC Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action against AstraZeneca in which the company, without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, agreed to cough up $5.5 million.

This post continues the analysis by highlighting additional issues to consider.

Timeline

In an August 9, 2010 filing, AstraZeneca first disclosed:

“AstraZeneca PLC has received inquiries from the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with an investigation into Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues in the pharmaceutical industry. AstraZeneca is cooperating with their inquiries.”

Thus from start to finish, AstraZeneca’s FCPA scrutiny lasted over six years.

It is absolutely inexcusable on any level for FCPA scrutiny to last over six years. If the SEC wants the public to view its FCPA enforcement program as legitimate, credible, and effective, it must resolve instances of FCPA scrutiny much faster.

AstraZeneca Coughs Up $5.5 Million To Resolve FCPA Action

By Mike Koehler on August 31, 2016 in 2016 Enforcement Actions, Anything of Value, AstraZeneca, Foreign Issuers, Healthcare Providers As Foreign Officials, Pharmaceutical Industry, SEC Enforcement Action

Say an English company has Chinese and Russian subsidiaries which, approximately 6-10 years ago, provided various things of value to physicians in those countries.

The end result?

Why of course $5.5 million to the U.S. Treasury because the English company has American Depositary Shares registered with the SEC.

The above description is not make-believe, but a summary of a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action released yesterday by the SEC against AstraZeneca Plc (a United Kingdom biopharmaceutical company).

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Issues To Consider From The AstraZeneca Enforcement Action

AstraZeneca Coughs Up $5.5 Million To Resolve FCPA Action

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