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The SEC’s Other Recent “FCPA” Enforcement Actions

SEC

September 30th was the end of the SEC’s fiscal year – and like prior years – there was much enforcement activity in September. Just don’t call it “earnings management” – even though that is a term SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has used to describe enforcement activity in September (see here).

Forty percentage of corporate SEC FCPA enforcement actions thus far in 2022 occurred during a 12-day period last month (see here and here) and this post highlights several other non-FCPA, FCPA enforcement actions (that is – enforcement actions that charge or find violations of the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions, yet have nothing to do with foreign bribery) from late September.

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What Should Happen When Compliance Is Ignored?

questions to ask

The recent Barclays Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action was based on alleged improper internship and hiring practices (see here and here for prior posts).

In the enforcement action, the SEC acknowledged that the company had several compliance policies and procedures to mitigate risk in this area.

For instance, the SEC stated: “Barclays promulgated anti-bribery and corruption policies that included prohibitions on providing employment in exchange for business.”

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Issues To Consider From The Barclays Enforcement Action

Issues

This prior post highlighted the SEC’s recent $6.3 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action against Barclays – the latest FCPA enforcement action focused on alleged improper internship and hiring practices primarily involving the financial services industry.

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

Timeline

In its March 1, 2016 annual report, Barclays disclosed:

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Next Up – Barclays Hands Over $6.3 Million To Uncle Sam

barclays2

First, it was BNY Mellon Corp. in August 2015 for $14.8 million (see here and here for prior posts). Then, it was Qualcomm in March 2016 for $7.5 million (see here and here for prior posts). Then, it was JPMorgan in November 2016 for $202.6 million (see herehere, and here for prior posts). Then, it was Credit Suisse in July 2018 for $77 million (see here and here for prior posts). Then, it was Deutsche Bank in August 2019 for $16.2 million (see here and here for prior posts).

Next up in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions (mostly targeting the financial services industry) focusing, in whole or in part, on internship and hiring practices being a form of bribery is Barclays as the SEC announced that the U.K. bank with shares traded on the NYSE will pay approximately $6.3 million to “settle charges that it violated the FCPA by hiring the relatives and friends of foreign government officials in order to improperly influence them in connection with its investment banking business.”

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Scrutiny Alerts And Updates

scrutiny alert

ING

Netherlands-based ING NV, a company with shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange, recently disclosed:

“ING Bank is the subject of criminal investigations by Dutch authorities regarding various requirements related to the on-boarding of clients, money laundering and corrupt practices. ING Groep has also received related information requests from U.S. authorities. ING Groep and ING Bank are cooperating with such ongoing investigations and requests. It is currently not feasible to determine how the ongoing investigations and requests may be resolved or the timing of any such resolution, nor to estimate reliably the possible timing, scope or amounts of any resulting fines, penalties and/or other outcome, which could be significant.”

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