Top Ten FCPA Settlement Amounts
With the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement “pause” over (at least as a formal matter), here is where things stand in terms of the current top ten corporate FCPA settlements of all-time actually secured by U.S. law enforcement (in other words net FCPA settlement amounts).
Unlike certain other lists, the below list is calculated after consistently accounting for certain credits or deductions in several enforcement actions involving foreign companies and/or related foreign law enforcement actions.
1. Goldman Sachs
- 1.66 billion
- ($1.263 billion DOJ)($400 million SEC)
- 2020
The Fallacy That The FCPA Was “Dormant” For Decades
There is a common narrative in certain circles that the FCPA was dormant for its first 20-25 years. Five minutes of simple research provides the following examples.
The FCPA was passed in 1977 but “the statute effectively lay dormant for years.”
Top Ten Corporate FCPA Settlements
Another year of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement is in the rearview mirror.
Set forth below is the current top ten corporate FCPA settlements of all-time actually secured by U.S. law enforcement (in other words net FCPA settlement amounts).
Unlike certain other lists, the below list is calculated after consistently accounting for certain credits or deductions in several enforcement actions involving foreign companies and/or related foreign law enforcement actions.
The Percentage Of SEC FCPA Enforcement Actions That Also Involve A DOJ Component
The only category of actor that both the DOJ and SEC can bring a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action against are “issuers” (the 78dd-1 portion of the FCPA).
The other two categories of actors covered by the FCPA, “domestic concerns” (78dd-2) and “persons other than issuers or domestic concerns” (78dd-3) are only subject to DOJ FCPA enforcement actions.
This post analyzes the percentage of SEC FCPA enforcement that also involve a DOJ component.
Before highlighting the yearly and aggregate statistics, it is not surprising that the DOJ does not join every issuer FCPA enforcement action brought by the SEC. Even though the DOJ and SEC are almost never put in a position to prove an FCPA violation against an issuer, theoretically the DOJ’s burden of proof is a very high beyond a reasonable doubt whereas the SEC’s civil burden of proof is merely a preponderance of the evidence.
Corporate FCPA Enforcement In 2024 Compared To Prior Years
This post, the first in a weeks-long year in review statistical feast on FCPA Professor, compares corporate FCPA enforcement in 2024 to prior years.
There is mounds of misinformation in the public domain regarding a supposed slow down in FCPA enforcement – I addressed the issue in this May 2024 podcast – and the misinformation continues . For instance, this recent post by an FCPA “commentator” stated that “2024 was a year of fizzles, fits and starts, and ultimately a slow year of [DOJ] FCPA enforcement.”
The reason(s) for these false narratives (incompetence, an agenda, etc) is unknown.
As demonstrated in the below chart, corporate FCPA enforcement in 2024 (measured by the number of core actions) was the same or exceeded corporate FCPA enforcement in the following years: 2022, 2021, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2009, and 2008.
Corporate FCPA enforcement in 2024 (measured by net settlement amounts) exceeded corporate FCPA enforcement in the following years (2023, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2017, 2015, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2009, 2009, and 2007) and was the 6th highest in FCPA history.