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If HR 2152 Were to Be Enacted … Part II

By on November 19, 2009 in Congressional Activity, HR 2152, Private Right of Action

In September, I posted (see here) about H.R. 2152 – the Foreign Business Bribery Prohibition Act of 2009.

Big picture, under the proposed law, any “foreign concern” (defined to mean any person other than an issuer, domestic concern or U.S. person) that violates the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions would be liable to any issuer, domestic concern or U.S. person for damages caused by the FCPA violation.

Under the proposed law, a plaintiff would need to prove that: (i) the “foreign concern” violated the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions; and (ii) the violation prevented the plaintiff from obtaining or retaining business and assisted the foreign concern in obtaining or retaining business.

In other words, if a U.S. company can prove that it lost business because a “foreign concern” gained that same business by violating the FCPA, the U.S. company could bring a lawsuit seeking damages.

Under the proposed law, the damages would be the higher of the total amount of the contract or agreement that the “foreign concern” gained in obtaining or retaining the business or the total amount of the contract or agreement that the plaintiff failed to gain. To sweeten the pot, the proposed law requires treble damages along with attorneys fees and costs.

What got me thinking about H.R. 2152 back in September was a NY Times Article titled “China Spreads Aid in Africa, With a Catch for Recipients” (see here).

What has me thinking about H.R. 2152 again is a recent article in the Washington Post titled “Afghan Minister Accused of Taking Bribe” (see here).

The article alleges that the current Afghan Minister of Mines accepted an approximate $30 million bribe around December 2007 from China Metallurgical Group Corp. in exchange for awarding a $2.9 billion contract to extract copper from one of the largest unexploited deposits in the world.

The article mentions that U.S. officials worked on the bidding process for this project and that, because of the alleged bribe payment, the Minister did not give a “fair hearing to the proposals of Western firms.”

It would thus seem that a U.S. company was competing for this project and, in fact, other media reports have suggested that Phelps Dodge bid on the project.

If so, and if H.R. 2152 were to enacted, Phelps Dodge (or any other U.S. company that bid) would have a cause of action against China Metallurgical Group Corp.

Given the damages provision of H.R. 2152, a recovery could be north of $8.7 billion … plus attorney fees and costs. Ye gods that’s a lot of money!

If H.R. 2152 ever “gets out of committee,” supporters of the bill can now point to two recent examples demonstrating a need for the bill.

What I find most interesting about H.R. 2152 is that if enacted, I think it will be a “game-changer” in terms of FCPA enforcement.

Private plaintiffs will have to prove every element of an FCPA anti-bribery violation.

A private plaintiff will not carry the “big stick” that the enforcement agencies’ carry (which means in the corporate context, that nearly all FCPA enforcement actions are settled by way of a non-prosecution or deferred prosecution agreement or a consent decree) and FCPA case law will surely follow.

Which means that a court will actually be called upon to construe FCPA elements and legal theories of liability.

If H.R. 2152 Were to Be Enacted …

By on September 23, 2009 in China, Congressional Activity, HR 2152, Private Right of Action

There is little in terms of substantive FCPA case law. Yet this much is clear – there is no private right of action under the FCPA – enforcement of the law is in the hands of the DOJ and the SEC (as to issuers).

However, Representative Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) would like to change that (at least a bit). In April, 2009, Perlumutter introduced H.R. 2152 – the Foreign Business Bribery Prohibition Act of 2009 (see here).

Big picture, under the proposed law, any “foreign concern” (defined to mean any person other than an issuer, domestic concern or U.S. person) that violates the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions would be liable to any issuer, domestic concern or U.S. person for damages caused by the FCPA violation. Under the proposed law, a plaintiff would need to prove that: (i) the “foreign concern” violated the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions; and (ii) the violation prevented the plaintiff from obtaining or retaining business and assisted the foreign concern in obtaining or retaining business.

In other words, if a U.S. company can prove that it lost business because a “foreign concern” gained that same business by violating the FCPA, the U.S. company could bring a lawsuit seeking damages. Under the proposed law, the damages would be the higher of the total amount of the contract or agreement that the “foreign concern” gained in obtaining or retaining the business or the total amount of the contract or agreement that the plaintiff failed to gain. To sweeten the pot, the proposed law requires treble damages along with attorneys fees and costs.

Certainly, lots to think about here.

But alas, with two foreign wars, government bailouts and debates about financial regulation, and now, the health care debate, H.R. 2152 remains buried in Congress. The last reported activity is from June 12, 2009 when the bill was reported to the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

It’s been a few months since I thought about H.R. 2152.

But I was reminded of the law and its potential application last night while reading an interesting front-page article in the New York Times titled “China Spreads Aid in Africa, With a Catch for Recipients” (see here).

The article talks about business activity by Chinese companies around the globe, and how, according to quoted sources, Chinese companies may be securing contracts through improper payments, kickbacks and the like.

A good portion of the article is about Nuctech Company Ltd. (a Beijing-based scanner company) and its questionable activity in Namibia. The article quotes the Vice President of Nuctech’s “American rival, Rapiscan Systems.”

I trust you are now thinking about the potential application of H.R. 2152 as well?

Let’s go through the elements – “foreign concern” check, potential violation of the FCPA check, a domestic concern damaged by the “foreign concern’s” violation check.

Before FCPA lawyers start dusting off their copy of the rules of civil procedure and daydreaming about H.R. 2152’s promise of treble damages and attorney fees, H.R. 2152 needs to at least get “out of committee.”

In any event, for those in favor of H.R. 2152, the article would seem to present a poster-child of sorts.

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