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The Charitable Donation That Did Not Occur

StopSign

This post was originally published in March 2018 and is one of the best guest posts ever published on this site.

After the introductory comments in italics, the remainder of this post is from Corporate Counsel at a well-known U.S. based publicly traded company.

Do Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions based on foreign charitable donations (such as Schering-Plough, Nu Skin Enterprises and several others that include such allegations) represent a net positive or net negative?

The FCPA Guidance contains the unobjectionable statement that companies “cannot use the pretense of charitable contributions as a way to funnel bribes to government officials.” However, seldom are the circumstances as black and white as the government portrays and query whether business organizations, because of this guidance and because of actual FCPA enforcement actions involving charitable donations, have become excessively risk averse and have stopped contributing to humanitarian causes or otherwise pulled back from supporting communities or institutions in need. According to the below guest post, the answer is yes and query whether the world is a better place because of this.

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Guidance From Canada’s First Remediation / Deferred Prosecution Agreement for Foreign Corruption

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A guest post from McCarthy Tetrault LLP attorneys Andrew Matheson, John Boscariol, Robin McKechney, and Adam Dobkin.

The recent Court-approved Remediation Agreement (“RA”), between the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (“PPSC”) and Ultra Electronics Forensic Technology Inc. (“UEFTI”), provides important guidance on procedural and substantive issues for future cases. The agreement (“UEFTI Agreement”) arises from charges against UEFTI for bribing Philippine officials to secure government contracts. This case should be reviewed carefully by any organization considering the potential negotiation of an RA to avoid criminal conviction in any settlement of allegations or charges relating to foreign or domestic corruption, fraud, insider trading, money laundering or other offences within scope of this RA mechanism.[1]

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Fifth Circuit’s Nullification Of Dismissal In Rafoi And Murta Reaffirms The Importance Of Preparing For FCPA Trials

Trialprep

A guest post from Andrew Feldman (The Feldman Firm PLLC which represents foreign nationals in FCPA cases and investigations with a focus on South America and Spain and recently represented Venezuelan nationals in an FCPA trial and is lead counsel in FCPA cases involving South American nationals including in Peru and Ecuador.).

Venezuela continues to be an attractive target for federal prosecutors investigating bribery and corruption. And, most, if not all, defendants in Venezuela FCPA cases have plead guilty opting against a trial. Months ago though, in a series of surprising opinions (here and here), a federal judge dismissed all counts in an indictment in a complex Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or “FCPA” and money laundering case involving Venezuela and Petroleos De Venezuela, SA (or PDVDSA).  The defendants who benefitted from those dismissals were a Swiss national, Daisy Teresa Rafoi Bleuler, and a Swiss/Portuguese national, Paulo Jorge Da Costa Casquiero Murta.

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Checking In Down Under

Australia

Today’s post is from Robert Wyld and Andrew Fish (both with the law firm Johnson Winter Slattery in Australia) regarding anti-corruption and other related developments in Australia.

Foreign Bribery Penalties in Australia – Should a Company be Fined for the Gross Benefit or only the Net Benefit from its Offending Conduct?

The law on foreign bribery cases is sparse in Australia, reflecting a dearth in active prosecutions that run to trial. The few cases that have existed over the last 20 years or more have invariably settled. Rarely have they been contested.

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Compensation Clawback Crackdowns – An Emerging Enforcement Focus

clawback

This post is from Dechert attorneys Andrew Boutros, David Kelley, Anthony Kelly, Hartley M.K. West, and D. Brett Kohlhofer.

Prosecutors and regulatory officials have recently fixed their enforcement sights on corporate compensation clawbacks. Recent public remarks from leaders at the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Enforcement Division reveal how the agencies are leveraging (and intend to continue to leverage) clawbacks in carrying out their enforcement mandates. Here we examine the context behind these pronouncements, how the focus on clawbacks may affect Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, and the planning opportunity these announcements present for the business community.

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