The DOJ’s First FCPA DPA Involved Monsanto
[This post is part of a periodic series regarding “old” FCPA enforcement actions]
In early January 2005, the DOJ used a deferred prosecution agreement for the first time to resolve a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action. The “guinea pig” was Monsanto.
This post highlights the DOJ and parallel SEC enforcement action against the company (aggregate settlement amount of $1.5 million) based on conduct in Indonesia.
Stock Option Grants For Doctors Results In FCPA Enforcement Action
[This post is part of a periodic series regarding “old” FCPA enforcement actions]
In March 2005, the DOJ announced that Micrus (a medical device company based in California) agreed to non-prosecution agreement and to pay a $450,000 criminal penalty to resolve its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act liability. The conduct at issue largely focused on stock option grants provided to physicians at publicly owned and operated hospitals in France, Turkey, Spain, and Germany.
DOJ Individual Actions: The Strange Public – Private Divide
This post highlighted certain facts and figures regarding the DOJ’s prosecution of individuals for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act offenses in 2019 and historically.
As highlighted in the prior post, DOJ FCPA individual enforcement actions are significantly skewed by a small handful of enforcement actions and the reality is, despite the DOJ’s rhetoric, approximately 80% of DOJ corporate enforcement actions since 2006 have not (at least yet) resulted in any related DOJ FCPA charges against company employees.
Another very interesting and significant picture emerges when analyzing actual DOJ individual FCPA prosecutions based on whether the individual charged was employed by or otherwise associated with an issuer or a private business organization.
A Focus On DOJ Individual Actions
This recent post focused on SEC individual FCPA actions in 2019 and historically. Today’s post highlights certain facts and figures concerning the DOJ’s prosecution of individuals for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations in 2019 and historically.
The key word above is FCPA violations.
Some in the FCPA space include enforcement actions containing non-FCPA charges (often money laundering charges against alleged “foreign officials”) related to an FCPA enforcement action as an individual FCPA enforcement action. While it is fine to track such enforcement actions, calling them FCPA enforcement actions is factually false.
DOJ FCPA Enforcement – 2019 Year In Review
This recent post highlighted SEC Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement against issuers in 2019.
Today’s post focuses on the other FCPA enforcement agency – the Department of Justice – and highlights various facts and figures relevant to DOJ FCPA enforcement in 2019 against business organizations. (See here for a similar post from 2018; here from 2017, here from 2016, here from 2015, here from 2014, here from 2013, here from 2012, here from 2011, and here from 2010).
Settlement Amounts and Specifics
In 2019, the DOJ brought 8 corporate FCPA enforcement actions.