FCPA Enforcement And The “C” Word
The recent Scoular Company FCPA enforcement action was a “garden variety” enforcement action.
A company doing business in a foreign country had a point of contact with a “foreign official” in connection with some regulatory aspect of its business and a bribe was allegedly paid.
FCPA enforcement actions in connection with licenses, permits, inspections, customs, or other regulatory issues are very common including prior enforcement actions involving Mexico.
For instance, in 2023 Lifecore resolved an FCPA enforcement action in connection with wastewater discharge permits in Mexico.
DOJ Seeking Trial Attorneys For FCPA Unit
According to some false narratives, the DOJ is no longer prosecuting FCPA cases.
However, the DOJ is actively seeking trial attorneys for its FCPA Unit.
As stated in this recent DOJ job posting: “The Fraud Section is seeking qualified, experienced attorneys for Trial Attorney positions in the Market, Government, and Consumer Fraud Unit (MGC) and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Unit.”
The posting states:
Hey Look, Another DOJ Policy
In running this site for over 16 years, I don’t even recall how many DOJ policy memos have been covered here.
The short answer is many.
Many, many.
Some have been specific to the FCPA, some have been more general (yet FCPA relevant), some have been focused on specific topics.
In the latest example, earlier this week the DOJ released yet another non-binding policy document titled “Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy.”
In The Words Of The DOJ
The DOJ recently released its Fraud Section Year in Review.
Among the Fraud Section’s four “litigating units” is the FCPA Unit described as follows.
“The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Unit is responsible for investigating and prosecuting violations of the FCPA and the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA). The FCPA Unit brings criminal enforcement against individuals and companies and focuses its enforcement efforts on both the supply and demand side of corrupt transactions. The FCPA Unit works closely with domestic and foreign partners to advance common efforts in curbing foreign bribery and corruption.”
A Focus On DOJ Individual FCPA Enforcement Actions
This recent post focused on SEC individual FCPA actions in 2025 and historically.
Today’s post highlights various facts and figures regarding the DOJ’s prosecution of individuals for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act offenses in 2025 and historically.
The key word above is FCPA offenses.
Some in the FCPA space include enforcement actions containing non-FCPA charges (often money laundering charges against alleged “foreign officials” or with increasing frequency money laundering charges against alleged bribe payors – see here) related to an FCPA enforcement action as an individual FCPA enforcement action. While it is fine to track such enforcement actions, calling these FCPA enforcement actions is not accurate. (In fact, as highlighted in this prior post, a high percentage of enforcement actions in recent years on the DOJ’s FCPA website are not actual FCPA enforcement actions).