Issues To Consider From The Moog Enforcement Action
This previous post highlighted the $1.7 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions against Moog Inc. concerning subsidiary conduct in India.
This post highlights additional issues to consider.
No Prior Disclosure
It is rarely a surprise when a publicly-traded company (an issuer under FCPA speak) resolves an FCPA enforcement action because most issuers disclose FCPA scrutiny in an SEC filing.
Moog Inc. Resolves $1.7 Million FCPA Enforcement Action Based On Indian Subsidiary Conduct
Moog Inc. (“Moog”) is a worldwide designer and manufacturer of motion controls systems for a broad range of applications in aerospace, defense, industrial and medical markets. The New York headquartered company – with four operating segments: military aircraft, commercial aircraft, space and defense, and industrial – has shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange and has sales, engineering, and manufacturing facilities in twenty-six countries.
Moog is the latest company to resolve a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action.
Issues To Consider From The Philips Enforcement Action
This recent post highlighted the approximate $62 million Foreign Corrupt Practice Act enforcement action against Philips based on conduct in Angola. By resolving another FCPA enforcement action, Philips joined the corporate FCPA repeat offender club.
This post highlights additional issues to consider.
Timeline
As highlighted in this prior post, Philips had been under FCPA scrutiny since at least June 2019.
Thus, from start to finish, the company’s FCPA scrutiny lasted approximately four years.
Philips Joins The Corporate FCPA Repeat Offender Club
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act corporate repeat offender club is getting so large, that it really is not all that exclusive.
In 2013, Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (“Philips”), a Netherlands-based company with shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange, resolved a $4.5 million FCPA enforcement action concerning conduct in Poland. (See here for the prior post).
In resolving the matter, Philips consented to entry of the Order prohibiting future FCPA violations.
Yesterday, the SEC announced that Philips agreed to pay “more than $62 million to resolve charges that it violated the FCPA” with respect to conduct related to its sales of medical diagnostic equipment in China.”
Oracle Becomes The 20th Corporate FCPA Repeat Offender
As highlighted in this prior post, in 2012 Oracle resolved a $2 million SEC Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action finding that “Oracle violated the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the FCPA by failing to prevent Oracle India Private Limited from keeping unauthorized side funds at distributors from 2005 to 2007.”
As a condition of settlement, Oracle consented to the entry of a final judgment, among other things, “permanently enjoining it from future violations” of the books and records and internal controls provisions and in resolving the matter the SEC noted the “significant enhancements” Oracle made to its FCPA compliance program.
Yesterday, the SEC announced a $22.9 million FCPA enforcement action against Oracle “to resolve charges that it violated provisions of the FCPA when subsidiaries in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and India created and used slush funds to bribe foreign officials in return for business between 2016 and 2019.”
In resolving a second FCPA enforcement action, Oracle becomes the 20th corporate FCPA repeat offender (see here for the list).