Like Prior Years, The Gray Cloud Of FCPA Scrutiny Lasted Too Long In 2021
This recent post highlighted the origins of corporate Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions in 2021.
Continuing with the 2021 FCPA statistical feast, this post follows the chronology of scrutiny to enforcement and highlights one of the most troubling policy issues when it comes to FCPA enforcement.
That is – FCPA scrutiny simply lasts too long. Specifically, as highlighted below, 4 years was the approximate median length of time companies that resolved FCPA enforcement actions in 2021 were under scrutiny.
The Origins Of 2021 Corporate Enforcement Actions
This recent post compared corporate FCPA enforcement actions in 2021 to prior years. However, before a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action is announced, scrutiny must first arise.
This post highlights the origins of the four core corporate enforcement actions in 2021. (See here for a similar post highlighting the origins of 2020 corporate enforcement actions; here for 2019, here for 2018, here for 2017, and here for 2016).
Compared to prior years, this year in review statistic (like many from 2021) is less than enlightening given the small number of corporate enforcement actions in 2021 coupled with the fact that the specific origin of an enforcement action is often dependent on information contained in a resolution document.
Corporate FCPA Enforcement In 2021 Compared To Prior Years
This post, the first in a weeks-long statistical feast on FCPA Professor, compares corporate FCPA enforcement in 2021 to prior years.
Keep the numbers in this post in mind when you see other 2021 FCPA enforcement statistics that are plainly false (see here) or that use creative and haphazard counting methods or fail to use accurate or consistent math (see here).
Survey Says
Recently, Ethics and Compliance Initiative (ECI) released this survey titled “Corporate Compliance Programs and U.S. Department of Justice Enforcement Policies.”
As stated by ECI, the survey “was designed to obtain ethics & compliance leaders’ opinions about the DOJ’s enforcement guidelines and their intersection with corporate compliance programs.”
According to ECI, the “survey was conducted online, accessible through: unique invitation links sent to qualifying individuals; and an anonymous link posted on ECI’s and partner organizations’ platforms and websites.” Data collection took place May through June 2021 and participates included: 248 chief ethics & compliance officers (CECOs), chief compliance officers (CCOs) and chief ethics officers (CEOs) or their equivalents.”
A few data points that caught my eye.
Friday Roundup
Under scrutiny again, guilty plea, and for your listening enjoyment.
It’s all here in the Friday roundup.
Under Scrutiny Again
As highlighted in this prior post, in 2019 Russia-based Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (MTS) agreed to resolve an $850 million DOJ/SEC FCPA enforcement action based on the same alleged core conduct in several other Uzbekistan telecom focused FCPA enforcement actions. (See here and here). As a condition of settlement, MTS was required to retain an independent compliance monitor.