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Friday Roundup

By on September 13, 2013 in Agilent Technologies, Deutsche Bank, Gold Fields Limited, H-P, Wal-Mart

It’s an FCPA world Friday roundup.

According to my tally, in the last approximate 30 days, 11 companies have disclosed new instances of FCPA scrutiny and/or otherwise been the subject of media reports concerning conduct that could implicate the FCPA.  These “new” instances of scrutiny are in addition to several other companies that have recently disclosed expansion of existing FCPA inquiries.

This week’s scrutiny alerts and updates are set forth below.

Agilent Technologies

In its most recent quarterly filing, the company disclosed:

“As part of routine internal audit activities, the Company determined that certain employees of Agilent’s  subsidiaries in China did not comply with the Company’s Standards of Business Conduct and other policies.  Based on those findings, the Company has initiated an internal investigation, with the assistance of outside counsel, relating to certain sales of our products through third party intermediaries in China.  The  internal investigation includes a review of compliance by our employees in China with the requirements of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other applicable laws and regulations.  On September 5, 2013, the Company voluntarily contacted the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and United States Department of Justice to advise both agencies of this internal investigation.  We will cooperate with any government investigation of this matter.  At this point, we cannot predict or estimate the duration, scope, cost, or result of this matter, or whether the government will commence any legal action, which could result in possible fines and penalties, criminal or civil sanctions, or other consequences.  Accordingly, no provision with respect to these matters has been made in the Company’s consolidated financial statements.  Adverse findings or other negative outcomes from any governmental proceedings could have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements in future periods.”

Deutsche Bank

The company, with shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange, was the focus of this recent Reuters article.  The article states:

“Japan’s securities market watchdog is investigating whether Deutsche Bank AG employees provided excessive entertainment to Japanese pension fund executives in breach of regulations, sources with knowledge of the matter said.  The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) found evidence of potential infractions during a regular audit of Deutsche Securities Inc, the German bank’s investment banking arm in Tokyo, said the sources, who spoke on condition they not be identified because the investigation is ongoing. The employees had booked large expenses for entertainment involving pension fund executives, they said. This raised red flags for the regulators because the pension fund executives involved are legally considered public employees, subject to anti-bribery statutes, since they handle part of the national pension scheme.”

Gold Fields Limited

Last week, the South African company with ADR shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange, was the feature of this lengthy article in the Johannesburg Mail & Guardian newspaper.  In short, the article suggested that:

“Gold Fields has buried a New York law firm’s [Paul Weiss] finding that a R25-million share allocation to ANC chairperson Baleka Mbete constituted bribery. The law firm, commissioned by Gold Fields itself, found that the South African mining house had hugely increased Mbete’s cut in a contentious 2010 empowerment deal in response to an alleged threat by her representative. They recommended that Gold Fields “self report” the matter to the authorities. But the company’s board disregarded the advice – and instead decided not to have the findings written up.”

Earlier this week, Gold Fields issued this statement:

“Gold Fields Limited has been informed that it is the subject of a regulatory investigation in the United States by the US Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the Black Economic Empowerment transaction associated with the granting of the mining license for its South Deep operation. Given the early stage of this investigation, it is not possible to estimate reliably what effect, the outcome this investigation, any regulatory findings and any related developments may have on the Company.”

H-P

As noted in this previous post, H-P has been under FCPA scrutiny since 2010.  In its most recent quarterly filing, the company disclosed:

“Russia GPO and Other FCPA Investigations.    The German Public Prosecutor’s Office (“German PPO”) has been conducting an investigation into allegations that current and former employees of HP engaged in bribery, embezzlement and tax evasion relating to a transaction between Hewlett-Packard ISE GmbH in Germany, a former subsidiary of HP, and the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation. The approximately €35 million transaction, which was referred to as the Russia GPO deal, spanned the years 2001 to 2006 and was for the delivery and installation of an IT network. The German PPO has issued an indictment of four individuals, including one current and two former HP employees, on charges including bribery, breach of trust and tax evasion. The German PPO has also asked that HP be made an associated party to the case, and, if the German PPO’s request is granted, HP would participate in any portion of the court proceedings that could ultimately bear on the question of whether HP should be subject to potential disgorgement of profits based on the conduct of the indicted current and former employees.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC have been conducting an investigation into the Russia GPO deal and potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). The agencies, as well as the Polish Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, are also conducting investigations into potential FCPA violations by an employee of Hewlett-Packard Polska Sp. z o.o., an indirect subsidiary of HP, in connection with certain public sector transactions in Poland. In addition, the agencies are conducting investigations into certain other public-sector transactions in Russia, Poland, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and Mexico, among other countries.

[…]

HP is cooperating with these investigating agencies.”

Wal-Mart

In its most recent quarterly filing, the company disclosed:

“The Audit Committee (the “Audit Committee”) of the Board of Directors of the Company, which is composed solely of independent directors, is conducting an internal investigation into, among other things, alleged violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and other alleged crimes or misconduct in connection with foreign subsidiaries, including Wal-Mart de México, S.A.B. de C.V. (“Walmex”), and whether prior allegations of such violations and/or misconduct were appropriately handled by the Company. The Audit Committee and the Company have engaged outside counsel from a number of law firms and other advisors who are assisting in the on-going investigation of these matters. The Company is also conducting a voluntary global review of its policies, practices and internal controls for FCPA compliance. The Company is engaged in strengthening its global anti-corruption compliance programs through appropriate remedial anti-corruption measures.  In November 2011, the Company voluntarily disclosed that investigative activity to the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Since the implementation of the global review and the enhanced anti-corruption compliance programs, the Audit Committee and the Company have identified or been made aware of additional allegations regarding potential violations of the FCPA. When such allegations are reported or identified, the Audit Committee and the Company, together with their third party advisors, conduct inquiries and when warranted based on those inquiries, open investigations. Inquiries or investigations regarding allegations of potential FCPA violations have been commenced in a number of foreign markets where the Company operates, including, but not limited to, Brazil, China and India. The Company has been informed by the DOJ and the SEC that it is also the subject of their respective investigations into possible violations of the FCPA. The Company is cooperating with the investigations by the DOJ and the SEC. A number of federal and local government agencies in Mexico have also initiated investigations of these matters. Walmex is cooperating with the Mexican governmental agencies conducting these investigations. Furthermore, lawsuits relating to the matters under investigation have been filed by several of the Company’s shareholders against it, certain of its current directors, certain of its former directors, certain of its current and former officers and certain of Walmex’s current and former officers. The Company could be exposed to a variety of negative consequences as a result of the matters noted above. There could be one or more enforcement actions in respect of the matters that are the subject of some or all of the on-going government investigations, and such actions, if brought, may result in judgments, settlements, fines, penalties, injunctions, cease and desist orders, debarment or other relief, criminal convictions and/or penalties. The shareholder lawsuits may result in judgments against the Company and its current and former directors and officers named in those proceedings. The Company cannot predict at this time the outcome or impact of the government investigations, the shareholder lawsuits, or its own internal investigations and review. In addition, the Company expects to incur costs in responding to requests for information or subpoenas seeking documents, testimony and other information in connection with the government investigations, in defending the shareholder lawsuits, and in conducting the review and investigations. These costs will be expensed as incurred. For the three and six months ended July 31, 2013, the Company incurred expenses of approximately $82 million and $155 million respectively, related to these matters. Of these expenses, approximately $48 million and $92 million, respectively, represent costs incurred for the ongoing inquiries and investigations and $34 million and $63 million, respectively, relate to global compliance programs and organizational enhancements. These matters may require the involvement of certain members of the Company’s senior management that could impinge on the time they have available to devote to other matters relating to the business. The Company expects that there will be on-going media and governmental interest, including additional news articles from media publications on these matters, which could impact the perception among certain audiences of the Company’s role as a corporate citizen.  The Company’s process of assessing and responding to the governmental investigations and the shareholder lawsuits continues. While the Company believes that it is probable that it will incur a loss from these matters, given the on-going nature and complexity of the review, inquiries and investigations, the Company cannot reasonably estimate any loss or range of loss that may arise from these matters. Although the Company does not presently believe that these matters will have a material adverse effect on its business, given the inherent uncertainties in such situations, the Company can provide no assurance that these matters will not be material to its business in the future.”
*****
A good weekend to all.

Scrutiny Alerts And Updates

By on April 3, 2013 in H-P, IBM, Image Sensing Sytems, InBev, Net 1, Oracle, Panasonic, UBS, Wal-Mart

This post revisits themes originally explored in this prior post “The Sun Rose, A Dog Barked and a Company Disclosed FCPA Scrutiny” and this prior post “Recent Disclosures Raise Many Questions.”

Why, in this era of increased FCPA compliance, does there seem to be more, not less, FCPA inquiries?  Does effective compliance reduce FCPA scrutiny or does effective compliance uncover more potential FCPA issues?  If every company hired FCPA counsel to do a thorough review of its world-wide operations would – given the current enforcement theories – 50% of companies find technical FCPA violations?  75%? 95%?  If the answer is any one of these numbers (and my guess is that 95% is probably the best answer), is that evidence of how corrupt business has become, evidence of how unhinged FCPA enforcement theories have become, or evidence of something else?

In other words, what does it say about enforcement of a law if, at any given time, the majority of corporations are on the wrong end of how that law is being enforced? 

After all, according to the FCPA Blog’s most recent corporate disclosure list (here) approximately 90 companies are currently under investigation for FCPA violations.  As the FCPA Blog rightly notes “nearly all entries are based on disclosures in SEC filings. That means non-issuers (non-public companies) aren’t included. And perhaps not all issuers have made a disclosure about a pending FCPA investigation, in which case the company may not appear on this list.”

This post highlights FCPA scrutiny and developments concerning the following companies:  UBS, Panasonic, Image Sensing Systems, H-P, Oracle, IBM, InBev, Wal-Mart, and  Net1,

*****

UBS

It reads like a law school issue-spotting exam.

A Kuwaiti sheik (and also a former Minister of Interior) alleges that a company subject to the FCPA offered a $20 million commission to derail a bid by a company for various telecommunication assets so that the subject company could get a lead role in finding a different buyer.  The sheik alleges that he then used his influence, on the subject company’s behalf, placed a series of telephone calls, and the bid was derailed.  The sheik then assisted the subject company in landing a lead advisory role on the sale to a different buyer giving the subject company a $22.5 million fee.  The subject company then offers the sheik a job paying over $600,000 a year.

So reads this recent article in the Wall Street Journal concerning a Kuwaiti sheik and UBS and the sheik’s efforts to obtain the fee he says he is owed.

Panasonic

According to this recent Wall Street Journal article, “U.S. authorities are investigating whether [Panasonic Avionics Corp. (“PAC”)  a U.S.-based subsidiary of Japanese electronics giant Panasonic Corp. that makes in-flight entertainment and communications systems for airlines] paid bribes abroad to land business.”  According to the article, PAC’s legal department has instructed certain executives and employees to preserve documents “concerning any benefits or gifts provided, or the payment of anything of value, by Panasonic or PAC to any airline employee or government officials.”

Image Sensing Systems

Image Sensing Systems Inc. (a Minnesota based provider of above ground detection and information management solutions for markets including security, police and parking) disclosed in this recent release as follows.

“The Company has learned that Polish authorities are conducting an investigation into alleged violations of Polish law by two employees of ISS Poland, who have been charged with criminal violations of certain laws related to a project in the City of Lodz, Poland. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has been charged with any offense. A committee of the Company’s independent directors, with the assistance of independent counsel and accounting advisors, is conducting an investigation into these matters focusing on possible violations of Company policy, internal controls, and laws, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Anti-Bribery Act and Polish law. This investigation is ongoing, and the Company is voluntarily disclosing this matter to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice.  ‘We take these matters very seriously, and are cooperating fully. Image Sensing Systems aims to conduct its business lawfully and ethically.  We have taken remedial actions, including ending the employment of the two Polish employees.  We are also assessing and implementing enhancements to our internal policies, procedures and controls.  The Company’s known costs related to the investigation to date were immaterial in 2012 and approximately $1.5 million through March 22, 2013. While we are working diligently towards a timely conclusion, we are presently unable to determine the likely outcome or range of loss, if any, or predict with certainty the timeline for resolution of these matters.'”

H-P, IBM and Oracle

This recent ProPublic report highlights the relationship between various tech companies including H-P, IBM and Oracle with a “senior technology officer for Poland’s national police and, later, the nation’s Interior Ministry, [who] set the terms for hundreds of millions of dollars in technology contracts and decided which ones should be awarded without competitive bidding.

According to the article, Polish prosecutor say that the individual “received more than a $1 million in cash and brand-name gifts in exchange for steering government contracts to the three American companies, as well as to a Polish company called Netline.  According to prosecutors, the gifts included a BMW motorcycle, a Nissan SUV, a Harmon Kardon home theater, a Sony 50 inch television, 12 HP laptops, several iPads and a refrigerator.”

The article further states as follows.

“IBM and Hewlett-Packard said in statements  that they were cooperating with Polish authorities. Hewlett-Packard noted that “no current HP employees are suspects in this case,” while IBM pointed out that “press reports” on the case referred to a “former IBM employee.”  The company said in its statement that it “believes in the highest ethical standards for its employees and is committed to the principles of business ethics and lawful conduct.”  Oracle, whose possible entanglement in the investigation had not been publicly known before today, would not comment for this article”

IBM and Oracle have both recently been the subjects of FCPA enforcement actions (see here and here) and as noted in this post H-P has been under FCPA scrutiny since approximately April 2010.

AB InBev

InBev, a leading global brewer based in Belgium with ADRs traded on the N.Y. Stock Exchange, recently disclosed in its annual report as follows.

“We have been informed by the SEC that it is conducting an investigation into our affiliates in India, including our nonconsolidated Indian joint venture, InBev Indian Int’l Private Ltd, and whether certain relationships of agents and employees were compliant with the FCPA. We are investigating the conduct in question and cooperating with the SEC.”

As noted in this Bloomberg article, AB InBev’s market share in India is about 2 percent and operations are run by an Indian subsidiary, Crown Beers India, and a joint venture with RKJ Group for local production, in which AB InBev holds a minority stake.

Other beverage industry companies also currently the subject of FCPA scrutiny include Owens Illinois (see here for prior post), Beam Inc. (see here for the prior post) and Central European Distribution Corp. (see here for the prior post).

An industry sweep?  (See here from the Wall Street Journal Corruption Currents).

Wal-Mart

In its recent 10-K filing, Wal-Mart stated, in pertinent part, regarding its FCPA scrutiny as follows.

“Our process of assessing and responding to the governmental investigations and the shareholder lawsuits continues. While we believe that it is probable that we will incur a loss from these matters, given the on-going nature and complexity of the review, inquiries and investigations, we cannot reasonably estimate any loss or range of loss that may arise from these matters. Although we do not presently believe that these matters will have a material adverse effect on our business, given the inherent uncertainties in such situations, we can provide no assurance that these matters will not be material to our business in the future.”

[…]

“These matters may require the involvement of certain members of the Company’s senior management that could impinge on the time they have available to devote to other matters relating to the business. The Company expects that there will be on-going media and governmental interest, including additional news articles from media publications on these matters, which could impact the perception among certain audiences of the Company’s role as a corporate citizen.”

Related to Wal-Mart’s overall FCPA scrutiny, this recent article in the Wall Street Journal suggests that Wal-Mart’s “compliance crackdown” is one of the reasons for the company’s stalled growth in India.  Another reason discussed is “India’s labyrinthine process for developing commercial real estate and operating stores”

Net1

As noted in this previous post, in December 2012, Net1 UEPS (a South African telecommunications company with shares traded on a U.S. exchange) disclosed that it received letters from the DOJ and SEC informing the company that the agencies had begun an investigation into whether Net 1 violated the FCPA by engaging in a scheme to make corrupt payments to officials of the Government of South Africa in connection with securing a contract with the South African Social Security Agency to provide social welfare and benefits payments.

The company recently announced as follows.

“[A] full bench of the South African Supreme Court of Appeal (“Appeal Court”) unanimously ruled that the tender process followed by the South African Social Security Agency (“SASSA”) in awarding a contract to Net1’s wholly owned subsidiary Cash Paymaster Services (Proprietary) Limited (“CPS”) was valid and legal.”

Scrutiny Alerts

By on September 25, 2012 in Brookfield Asset Management, H-P, Kraft, Merger Issues, Permits / Licenses / Customs / Tax

This post provides updates on three company’s FCPA scrutiny:  Kraft, Brookfield Asset Management, and H-P.

Kraft

In February 2010, Kraft acquired Cadbury, and with that, Cadbury’s Baddi, India facility which churns out various chocolates.  Producing chocolates for the mouths of the masses is, all things considered, a low FCPA risk activity.  But alas, company employees had to interact with India’s legendary bureaucracy in regards to licenses, permits, and excise tax issues.  Therein was the FCPA risk as detailed in this recent Forbes India article.

In its most recent quarterly filing (here) the company stated as follows.

“A compliant and ethical corporate culture, which includes adhering to laws and industry regulations in all jurisdictions in which we do business, is integral to our success. Accordingly, after we acquired Cadbury in February 2010 we began reviewing and adjusting, as needed, Cadbury’s operations in light of U.S. and international standards as well as our policies and practices. We initially focused on such high priority areas as food safety, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and antitrust. Based upon Cadbury’s pre-acquisition policies and compliance programs and our post-acquisition reviews, our preliminary findings indicated that Cadbury’s overall state of compliance was sound. Nonetheless, through our reviews, we determined that in certain jurisdictions, including India, there appeared to be facts and circumstances warranting further investigation. We are continuing our investigations in certain jurisdictions, including in India, and we continue to cooperate with governmental authorities.  As we previously disclosed, on February 1, 2011, we received a subpoena from the SEC in connection with an investigation under the FCPA, primarily related to a Cadbury facility in India that we acquired in the Cadbury acquisition. The subpoena primarily requests information regarding dealings with Indian governmental agencies and officials to obtain approvals related to the operation of that facility. We are cooperating with the U.S. and Indian governments in their investigations of these matters.”

Brookfield Asset Management

The Wall Street Journal reported last week (here – “Brookfield Faces Brazil Accusations”) that “Brazilian authorities are investigating allegations that an executive at Brookfield bribed Sao Paulo officials to secure permits required for renovating three shopping malls in that city.”  According to the article, the allegations were made by the former CFO of a Brookfield subsidiary in Brazil who was fired in 2010, and who the company has sued in Brazil for embezzling funds.  The article further suggests that the former CFO has contacted the SEC about the matter.

Brookfield (here) is “global alternative asset manager with over $150 billion in assets under management … with a 100-year history of owning and operating assets with a focus on property, renewable power, infrastructure and private equity.”  The company’s common shares trade on three stock exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange.

H-P

As noted in this previous post, H-P has been under FCPA scrutiny since April 2010.  Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported here (“German Prosecutors Name H-P in Bribery Indictment of Employees”) that German prosecutors named H-P in a criminal bribery case against one current and two former employees.  According to the article, the “German prosecutors asked the court to attach H-P to the case, a motion that could lead to fines and other penalties if the court finds that the company benefited from the crime.”  In the article, a H-P spokeswoman said current and former employees had been indicted on charges of “alleged conduct that occurred nearly 10 years ago by a former H-P company” and that H-P had been “only named as a side participant in the proceedings,” not indicted, and was fully cooperating with authorities.

The company’s most recent quarterly filing stated as follows.

“The German Public Prosecutor’s Office (“German PPO”) has been conducting an investigation into allegations that current and former employees of HP engaged in bribery, embezzlement and tax evasion relating to a transaction between Hewlett-Packard ISE GmbH in Germany, a former subsidiary of HP, and the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation. The approximately €35 million transaction, which was referred to as the Russia GPO deal, spanned the years 2001 to 2006 and was for the delivery and installation of an information technology network. The U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC have also been conducting an investigation into the Russia GPO deal and potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). Under the FCPA, a person or an entity could be subject to fines, civil penalties of up to $500,000 per violation and equitable remedies, including disgorgement and other injunctive relief. In addition, criminal penalties could range from the greater of $2 million per violation or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss from the violation. In addition to information about the Russia GPO deal, the U.S. enforcement authorities have requested (i) information related to certain other transactions, including transactions in Russia, Serbia and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) subregion dating back to 2000, and (ii) information related to two former HP executives seconded to Russia and to whether HP personnel in Russia, Germany, Austria, Serbia, the Netherlands or CIS were involved in kickbacks or other improper payments to channel partners or state-owned or private entities. HP is cooperating with these investigating agencies.”

A Favor … Plus The Friday Roundup

By on September 10, 2010 in Africa Sting, BAE, FCPA Inc., Germany, H-P, International Initiatives, Reputational Damage, Russia, Smith and Wesson, United Kingdom

A Favor

Each year, LexisNexis honors a select group of blogs that set the online standard for a given industry.

I am pleased to share that FCPA Professor is one of the nominated blogs for the LexisNexis Top 25 Business Law Blogs of 2010.

LexisNexis invites the business law community to comment on the list of nominees so that it can narrow the field to the Top 25.

The link to submit comments is here.

To submit a comment, you must register, but registration is free and does not result in sales contacts. The comment box is at the very bottom of the page and the comment period ends on October 8, 2010.

Many of the other blogs nominated are the work of multiple bloggers and/or for-profit entities. Thus, as a single blogger, I am honored to be included on this list. My mission remains the same since I launched FCPA Professor in July 2009. That is to inject a much needed scholarly voice into FCPA and related issues, to explore the more analytical “why” questions increasingly present in this current era of aggressive enforcement, and to foster a forum for critical analysis and discussion of the FCPA and related topics among FCPA practitioners, business and compliance professionals, scholars and students, and other interested persons.

I hope you value the content delivered to you each day on FCPA Professor and I thank you for your consideration.

Friday Roundup

HP speaks, checking in with the Africa Sting case, Smith & Wesson’s reduced international shipments, BAE news, The Bribery Centre, and the International Anti-Corruption Academy … it’s all here in the Friday roundup.

HP Speaks

In April (see here) it was reported that German and Russian authorities were investigating whether Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) executives paid millions of dollars in bribes to win a contract in Russia with the office of the prosecutor general of the Russian Federation. U.S. authorities then launched an investigation, something HP publicly acknowledged (see here). Yesterday, for the first time, HP “talked” about the investigation(s) in an SEC filing. In its 10-Q filing (see here) the company disclosed as follows:

“Russia GPO and Related Investigations

The German Public Prosecutor’s Office (“German PPO”) has been conducting an investigation into allegations that current and former employees of HP engaged in bribery, embezzlement and tax evasion relating to a transaction between Hewlett−Packard ISE GmbH in Germany, a former subsidiary of HP, and the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation. The €35 million transaction, which was referred to as the Russia GPO deal, spanned 2001 to 2006 and was for the delivery and installation of an IT network. The German PPO has recently requested information on several non−public sector transactions entered into by HP and its subsidiaries on or around 2006 involving one or more persons also involved in the Russia GPO deal.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC have also been conducting an investigation into the Russia GPO deal and potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). Under the FCPA, a person or an entity could be subject to fines, civil penalties of up to $500,000 per violation and equitable remedies, including disgorgement and other injunctive relief. In addition, criminal penalties could range from the greater of $2 million per violation or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss from the violation. The U.S. enforcement authorities have recently requested information from HP relating to certain governmental and quasi−governmental transactions in Russia and in the Commonwealth of Independent States subregion dating back to 2000.

HP is cooperating with these investigating agencies.”

Africa Sting

It’s been a while since I posted on the Africa Sting case (see here for numerous prior posts). You’ll recall that the 20+ defendants were snared in an undercover operation in which FBI agents posed as a Gabon “foreign official.” Entrapment is sure to be a legal issue the defendants will formally raise – and indeed it has been an issue defense lawyers have already publicly stated. As noted in this Blog of Legal Times post, during a hearing earlier this week, defense counsel “are demanding access to internal Justice Department and FBI manuals that govern the planning and execution of undercover operations.” According to the post, defense counsel have already claimed violations of DOJ/FBI policy in connection with the sting operation.

Smith & Wesson’s Reduced Shipments

Speaking of the Africa Sting case, one of the company’s indirectly, at least at this point, implicated in the matter is Smith & Wesson, the employer of Amaro Goncalves – one of the indicted individuals. In July (see here), the company disclosed the existence of a DOJ/SEC investigation and yesterday’s 10-Q filing (see here) does not seem to add much from the previous filing. However, this sentence from pg. 26 of the filing caught my eye: “Pistol sales decreased 25.3%, driven by the reduction in consumer demand as well as reduced international shipments related to our investigation of the FCPA matter.”

BAE News

The BAE bribery, yet no bribery enforcement action (see here) may be over in the U.S. and the U.K. Serious Fraud Office – BAE plea agreement may be waiting judicial approval in the U.K. (see here), but that does not mean that BAE’s potential exposure in other jurisdictions is over. For instance, this recent Businessweek article suggests that South African authorities remain interested in corruption allegations concerning the purchase of fighter jets from BAE. In addition, according to this recent story in The Prague Post “the Czech Republic has asked the United States for help in its inquiry into alleged corruption in a 2002 deal to buy 24 fighter jets from … BAE Systems.” The DOJ’s non-FCPA criminal information against BAE (see here) included allegations regarding the sale of fighter jets to the Czech Republic.

The Bribery Centre

The U.S. is not the only country with a vibrant and aggressively marketed anti-bribery sector. With implementation of the U.K. Bribery Act expected in April 2011, an industry is developing on the other side of the Atlantic as well. The Bribery Centre (here) seeks to provide a “unique resource to manage compliance to the Bribery Act 2010.” Described as a “collaboration between Ten Alps plc and Venalitas Ltd” the Centre “aims to become the predominant online resource for those companies who need assistance to become compliant with this new landmark piece of legislation.” Contributors include Clifford Chance and KPMG. As noted near the top of the site, you only have “29 weeks to implement adequate procedures.”

International Anti-Corruption Academy

The IAAC as it is known (see here) recently had its coming out party. As described on its website, the IAAC is “a joint initiative by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Republic of Austria, the European Anti-Fraud Office, and other stakeholders” and it “is a pioneering institution that aims to overcome current shortcomings in knowledge and practice in the field of anti-corruption.”

Located near Vienna, Austria, the academy “will function as an independent centre of excellence in the field of anti-corruption education, training, networking and cooperation, as well as academic research.”

*****

A good weekend to all.

Six Months For The Greens … Plus The Friday Roundup

By on August 13, 2010 in China, Debarment, FCPA Sentences, Giffen, Greens, H-P, Reputational Damage, SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Siemens

In September 2009, Gerald and Patricia Green were found guilty by a federal jury of substantive FCPA violations, conspiracy to violate the FCPA, and other charges. According to the DOJ release (see here) the Los Angeles-area film executives were found guilty of engaging in “sophisticated bribery scheme that enabled the defendants to obtain a series of Thai government contracts, including valuable contracts to manage and operate Thailand’s yearly film festival.”

As noted in the DOJ release:

“The conspiracy and FCPA charges each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and each of the money laundering counts carries a maximum penalty of up to 20years in prison. The false subscription of a U.S. income tax return carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a fine of not more than $100,000.”

Sentencing was originally set for December 17, 2009, was delayed several times, and, at one point, was removed from the calendar altogether (see here).

U.S. District Court Judge George Wu of the Central District of California reportedly wanted to learn more about other FCPA sentences as well as Mr. Green’s health issues.

The DOJ requested a 10 year sentence for both Gerald and Patricia Green.

The DOJ stated that the “court must decline defendants’ remarkable invitation to join the wholesale speculation of FCPA ‘pundits’ as to whether corporate settlements are ‘shielding’ to corporate executives from punishment.”

In closing, the DOJ urged the court to “disregard defendants’ efforts to obscure the landscape of FCPA sentencing, which generally reflects significant prison terms for convicted individuals.”

According to this report, Judge Wu yesterday sentenced the Greens, before a packed courtroom, to six months in prison, followed by three years probation (six months of which must be served as home confinement).

According to the report, Judge Wu “also set a restitution figure of $250,000” but “if the Greens, who have had their accounts frozen and assets seized since being arrested in 2007, can prove that none of the $1.8 million they paid in bribes to Thai officials can be recovered, then they will only have to pay $3,000 in restitution.”

Does the “landscape of FCPA sentencing” truly reflect “significant prison terms” as stated by the DOJ?

True, any prison term is significant for a defendant and his/her family and friends.

But with a top sentence of 60 months (Charles Jumet – see here), the 366 day sentence for Frederic Bourke in November 2009 (see here), the 15 month sentence for Jason Edward Steph and the 366 day sentence for Jim Bob Brown both in January 2010 (see here) and now the 6 month sentence for the Greens – is this yet another instance in which DOJ’s FCPA rhetoric does not match reality?

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H-P news that does not involve its former CEO, what others are saying about the Giffen Gaffe, SciClone’s stock drop, and Siemens $1 billion customer … it’s all here in the Friday roundup.

H-P Inquiry Escalates

According to a story in today’s Wall Street Journal by David Crawford, the DOJ “has asked Hewlett-Packard Co. to provide a trove of internal records as part of an international investigation into allegations that H-P executives paid bribes in Russia, according to people familiar with the investigations.”

According to the story, the DOJ request “came after German prosecutors complained H-P had refused to provide them with all of the records they requested” and after “H-P initially argued that the German request for bookkeeping records, some of which are five years old, imposed an ‘undue hardship’ on the company.”

The article indicates that the DOJ “asked H-P to comply voluntarily with the request and hasn’t subpoenaed the records” and that “H-P has yet to provide some records” but is “cooperating with the investigations.” According to H-P, the investigation
“involves people that have largely left the company and matters that happened as much as seven years ago.”

What Others Are Saying About Giffen

It’s been one week since the Giffen Gaffe (see here).

Here is what others are saying about the enforcement action that began with charges that James Giffen made “more than $78 million in unlawful payments to two senior officials of the Republic of Kazakhstan in connection with six separate oil transactions”, yet ended with a misdemeanor tax violation against Giffen and an FCPA anti-bribery charge against a functionally defunct entity (The Mercator Corporation -in which Giffen was the principal shareholder, board chairman, and chief executive officer) focused merely on two snowmobiles.

Scott Horton, writing at Harper’s Magazine (see here) noted that “[t]he outcome is a huge embarrassment to federal prosecutors, who had invested a decade in resources in the effort to convict Giffen of FCPA and related violations.”

Horton, who has been following the case for years, highlighted how the “case has been the focus of political manipulation concerns for years” and closed with this paragraph:

“Kazakhs have long claimed that their government’s strategy of resolving the Giffen case by using the right levers with the American administration–a process that led them to hire former attorneys general and high-profile retired prosecutors, private investigators, and public-relations experts–would be successful. The outcome in the Giffen case appears to ratify that view. The notion of an independent, politically insulated criminal-justice administration in America has just taken another severe hit.”

Steve LeVine, author of The Oil and The Glory page at Foreign Policy, noted (here) that the Giffen resolution is “a considerable comedown for the federal government” and that Giffen’s lawyer “understood correctly that he could set up a collision between the Justice Department and the CIA in which the latter would probably prevail.”

The FCPA and Stock Price

What affect, if any, does an FCPA disclosure or resolution have on a company’s stock price?

It’s an issue I’ve explored before (see here) and best I can tell the evidence is inconclusive and the answer is – it depends.

In the case of a company that does business almost exclusively in China disclosing an FCPA inquiry focused on China, the answer is that disclosure of the FCPA inquiry matters – and quite a bit.

On Monday, SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Delaware company based in California, disclosed in a 10-Q filing (here) as follows:

“On August 5, 2010 SciClone was contacted by the SEC and advised that the SEC has initiated a formal, non-public investigation of SciClone. In connection with this investigation, the SEC issued a subpoena to SciClone requesting a variety of documents and other information. The subpoena requests documents relating to a range of matters including interactions with regulators and government-owned entities in China, activities relating to sales in China and documents relating to certain company financial and other disclosures. On August 6, 2010, the Company received a letter from the DOJ indicating that the DOJ was investigating Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues in the pharmaceutical industry generally, and had received information about the Company’s practices suggesting possible violations.”

SciClone’s business is focused primarily on China with 90+% of its revenue derived from China sales. Thus, it is not surprising that an FCPA inquiry focused on China had a material impact on the company’s stock price.

As noted in this Reuters story, news of the FCPA inquiry sent SciClone’s shares, at one point, down 41% to a 52 week low.

Siemens $1 Billion Customer

In December 2008, Siemens agreed to pay $800 million in combined U.S. fines and penalties to settle FCPA charges for a pattern of bribery the DOJ termed “unprecedented in scale and geographic scope.” According to the DOJ, for much of Siemens’ operations around the world, “bribery was nothing less than standard operating procedure.”

The Siemens enforcement action remains the largest FCPA settlement ever (even though Siemens itself was not charged with FCPA anti-bribery violations).

On the one year anniversary of the Siemens enforcement action, I ran a post – Siemens – The Year After (see here) which highlighted how the U.S. government continues to do substantial business with the company it charged with engaging in a pattern of bribery “unprecedented in scale and geographic scope.”

This U.S. government business has helped Siemens outperform its competitors in a difficult recessionary environment and much of the company’s recent success is the direct result of government stimulus programs around the world.

Using Recovery.gov (a U.S. government website designed “to allow taxpayers to see precisely what entities receive Recovery money ..”), I highlighted how several Siemens’ business units have been awarded several dozen contracts funded by U.S. taxpayer stimulus dollars.

It is against this backdrop that Paul Glader’s recent piece in the Wall Street Journal “Siemens Seeks More U.S Orders” caught my eye.

According to the article, Siemens Corp. (the U.S. division of Siemens) currently brings in about $1 billion a year from the U.S. government, a figure the division hopes to double by 2015.

Eric Spiegel, chief executive of Siemens Corp., is quoted in the article as saying: “[o]ne of the beauties of the federal-government spending is it didn’t drop off during the recession.”

To that, I’ll add that one of the unfortunate beauties of engaging in bribery the U.S. government terms “unprecedented in scale and geographic scope” is no slow down in U.S. government contracts in the immediate aftermath of the enforcement action.

It’s one of the FCPA greatest headscratchers – FCPA violaters are and remain some of the U.S. government’s biggest suppliers and contracting partners.

As I’ve noted in numerous prior posts, efforts are underway to try to change this. See here, here and here.

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A good weekend to all.

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