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Former Cognizant Executives Seek Relief – Claiming That The Government Outsourced Its Investigation To Cognizant

By on December 26, 2022 in Gordon Coburn, Internal Investigation Issues, Steven Schwartz
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As highlighted in this prior post, in connection with the Cognizant Technology Solutions Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action concerning obtaining various permits in India, in early 2019 the DOJ (and SEC) also charged Gordon Coburn (former President and CFO of the company) and Steven Schwartz (former Executive Vice President and Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer) with various FCPA offenses.

The case against the former executives remains active and recently Schwartz and Coburn filed motions seeking various forms of relief claiming that the government outsourced its investigation to Cognizant.  Continue Reading

Glencore … In Its Own Words

By on November 16, 2022 in Compliance, Cooperation, FCPA Inc., Foreign Evidence Issues, Glencore, Internal Investigation Issues
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As highlighted here, in May 2022 Glencore (a commodities company incorporated in the United Kingdom and headquartered in Switzerland) resolved a net $443 million FCPA enforcement action.

According to the DOJ: “From at least in or about 2007 up to and including in or about 2018, Glencore, through certain of its employees and agents, while acting on behalf of Glencore, together with its co-conspirators, knowingly and willfully conspired and agreed with others to corruptly provide more than $100 million in payments and other things of value to various intermediaries with the intent that a significant portion of these payments would be used to pay bribes to and for the benefit of foreign officials to secure an improper advantage and to influence those foreign officials in order to obtain or retain business in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Brazil, Venezuela, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

A recent sentencing submission by Glencore makes for an interesting read.

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Ng Files Motion To Dismiss

By on November 25, 2020 in Agency Issues, Deferred Prosecution Agreements, Due Process Issues, FCPA Trial, FCPA Trials, Goldman Sachs, Internal Controls, Internal Investigation Issues, Muzzle Clause, Roger Ng, Tim Leissner
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As highlighted in this prior post, in November 2018 the DOJ criminally charged former Goldman Sachs executives Tim Leissner and Ng Chong Hwa (Roger Ng) (along with Low Taek Jho – Jho Low) with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act offenses for paying bribes to various Malaysian and Abu Dhabi officials in connection with 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Malaysia’s state-owned and state-controlled investment development company.

Leissner pleaded guilty and in October Goldman Sachs resolved a net $1.66 billion FCPA enforcement action based on the same conduct. (See additional posts here and here).

Ng is mounting a defense and recently filed this motion to dismiss (an entire section of which is redacted). As highlighted below, Ng argues that the DOJ’s case against him suffers from several factual errors and legal deficiencies. Ng also suggests that the DOJ scripted Leissner’s guilty plea and that Goldman’s DPA was entered into for reasons of risk aversion and otherwise compromises his ability to defend himself.

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FCPA Flash Podcast – A Conversation With Joan Meyer And Matthew Ridings About Privilege Issues In Internal Investigations

By on May 18, 2020 in FCPA Flash, Internal Investigation Issues
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The FCPA Flash podcast provides in an audio format the same fresh, candid, and informed commentary about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and related topics as readers have come to expect from written posts on FCPA Professor.

This FCPA Flash podcast episode is a conversation with Thompson Hine attorneys Joan Meyer and Matthew Ridings. During the podcast, Meyer and Ridings use two FCPA related civil actions (here and here) to discuss privilege issues associated with internal investigations.

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A Compliance Professional Speaks

By on June 14, 2019 in Compliance, Guest Posts, Internal Investigation Issues
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[This post was originally published on FCPA Professor on November 12, 2014 by an anonymous compliance professional]

When you’re the Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) of a company that ends up in the middle of one of “those” all-encompassing FCPA investigations (as if there’s any other kind), people often want to know . . . what is it like?  How does it feel to be at ground zero of pure FCPA adrenaline?   This is my answer,  based on my repeated experiences.  I wish I could say it just happened once.  This is also based on my discussions with other CCOs.

It’s a rollercoaster with few ups and a lot of downs.

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