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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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Latin America in Flux: Recent Anti-Corruption Developments

latinamerica

Today’s post is from Debevoise attorneys Andrew Levine, Matthew French, and Nestor Almeida. (See here for a version of this post with footnotes).

In recent years – and notwithstanding encouraging windows of progress – economic difficulties, political shifts, and the pandemic’s lingering effects have undercut anti-corruption efforts in Latin America. The fourth annual Capacity to Combat Corruption Index (“CCC Index”), published in June 2022, reflects these recent challenges. Most countries in Latin America experienced declines in their assessed anti-corruption capabilities, with only a few demonstrating stability or improvement.

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A Comparative Study Of DPAs

comparison

A guest post from Fred Davis.

The Columbia Journal of Transnational Law recently published my article Judicial Review of Deferred Prosecution Agreements: A Comparative Study, which is available here.

As the title suggests, the article looks at three countries that not only have procedures for corporate DPAs but have actually developed a track record using them (the US, the UK, and France), and also touches on several other countries that have adopted such legislation (Canada,  Singapore) and still others that are contemplating doing so (Ireland, Australia) and countries with somewhat similar approaches (Brazil, Argentina).

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