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:
Other than this website (see here, here, here, here, here and here), there seems to be little focus on the SEC’s inconsistent approach to enforcing the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions.
Which is too bad because consistency is a basic rule of law principle. In other words, the same legal violation ought to be sanctioned in the same way. When the same legal violation is sanctioned in materially different ways, trust and confidence in law enforcement is diminished.
As highlighted in the numerous prior posts as well as the latest example described below, there sure does seem to be a lack of consistency between how the SEC resolves Foreign Corrupt Practices Act books and records and internal controls violations.
This prior post highlighted the SEC’s $16.2 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action against Deutsche Bank – 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
The company’s FCPA scrutiny reportedly began in mid-2013. Thus, from start to finish, Deutsche Bank’s FCPA scrutiny lasted an unconscionable six years.
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 Lucinda Low (Steptoe & Johnson). During the podcast, the experienced FCPA practitioner: (i) provides an assessment of 2019 FCPA enforcement; (ii) discusses the long time periods associated with FCPA scrutiny; (iii) explores the broadness of FCPA enforcement specifically the FCPA’s accounting provisions; and (iv) highlights why she believes the FCPA should be amended to include a compliance defense.
Last week Walmart resolved its long-standing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act scrutiny by agreeing to pay approximately $283 million to the DOJ/SEC (see here and here for prior posts).
$283 million is $283 million.
However, as highlighted in this post (a post informed by FCPA practice experience including conducting FCPA internal investigations around the world and having read and analyzed every FCPA enforcement action in the 40+ year history of the FCPA), the actual allegations / findings in the enforcement action are truly underwhelming and bear little resemblance to the “bribery” and “corruption” headlines that have been written by various media outlets in recent days.
