“Declinations” With Disgorgement
The most recent corporate FCPA enforcement action was a so-called declination with disgorgement involving Liberty Mutual.
Declinations with disgorgement were invented and added to the buffet of options the DOJ has created to resolve FCPA enforcement actions (non-prosecution agreements and deferred prosecution agreements were introduced to FCPA enforcement circa 2004) by the Obama administration and first used in 2016.
The Many FCPA Enforcement Actions Involving PEMEX
Can doing business with a specific customer – in and of itself – be a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act “red flag”?
That seems a bit harsh, particularly when the company has approximately 125,000 employees.
Then again, as set forth in this post, it is hard to ignore that a dozen corporate FCPA enforcement actions have involved – in whole or in part – bribery schemes involving employees of Mexico’s Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) and it various subsidiaries and affiliates.
FCPA Enforcement Actions Against Insurance Companies
Last week’s $4.7 million enforcement action against Liberty Mutual regarding an alleged bribery scheme in India was just the latest FCPA enforcement action against an insurance company.
This post highlights the six other enforcement actions.
Tysers and H.W. Wood
In 2023 the DOJ brought related FCPA enforcement actions against United Kingdom reinsurance brokers Tysers and H.W. Wood concerning an alleged bribery scheme in Ecuador.
The net settlement amount in the Tysers matter was $46.5 million and the net settlement amount in the H.W. Wood matter was $508,000.
How Many?
Today’s post is short, but poses some questions to ponder.
Some are lamenting the lack of corporate FCPA enforcement actions thus far in 2025.
Some are lamenting the reported decline in DOJ FCPA prosecutors from approximately 30 to approximately 15.
Yet lost in these lamentations is often any discussion of the following questions.
How many corporate FCPA enforcement actions should there be each year?
After all, the below graphic highlights where FCPA enforcement currently stands in 2025 compared to prior years.
The Least Expensive FCPA Corporate Settlement Amounts
In response to this list earlier this week highlighting the current top ten list of FCPA settlement amounts, a reader asks: what about the “least expensive” FCPA settlements?
Such a list would include many, many entries for $0 settlement amounts.
For instance, for many years SEC FCPA enforcement actions were largely administrative actions in which the company was “merely” ordered to cease and desist from committing future FCPA violations. There was no actual monetary FCPA settlement amount. (See here, here and here for examples).
Likewise, between 1991 and 2001, several DOJ FCPA enforcement actions were also civil injunctive actions (see here). This express provision of the FCPA statute remains, however the DOJ last brought this “type” of FCPA enforcement action in 2001.