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Second Circuit Rejects DOJ’s Expansive Jurisdictional Theory Of Prosecution In U.S. v. Hoskins

By on August 27, 2018 in FCPA Appeals, FCPA Jurisprudence, Foreign Nationals, Jurisdiction, Lawrence Hoskins, Legislative History
Judicial Decision

Appellate decisions construing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act are extremely rare. Thus, many in the FCPA community have been awaiting the Second Circuit’s long-awaited (oral argument was held in March 2017 – see here) decision in U.S. v. Hoskins.

In this decision, the court rejected the DOJ’s expansive jurisdictional theory of prosecution against Lawrence Hoskins, a U.K. national. In many respects, the Second Circuit’s decision was based on the FCPA’s legislative history – demonstrating once again that the legislative history matters (see here for a prior post).

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The False Narrative That Prior To The FCPA Foreign Bribery By U.S. Companies Was Rampant

By on June 7, 2018 in FCPA at 40, Legislative History
FCPAat40

A common narrative about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is something along the following lines: before the FCPA was enacted in 1977 foreign bribery by U.S. companies was rampant. (See here for instance: “Congress enacted the FCPA in the 1970s to address the rampant bribery of foreign officials by U.S. companies.”)

Even though certain problematic corporate foreign payments were unearthed in the mid-1970s, the notion that foreign bribery by U.S. companies was rampant prior to the FCPA is a false narrative. Indeed, extensive efforts were made during the legislative process to place the conduct in the proper context.

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U.K. – Don’t Get Your Knickers In A Twist Regarding The Bribery Act Review

By on May 23, 2018 in Legislative History, U.K. Bribery Act, United Kingdom
UK2

As highlighted in this recent roundup, the U.K. House of Lords announced that it “appointed an ad hoc Select Committee to consider and report on the Bribery Act 2010.” The Chairman of the Committee stated: “now is the opportune time for post-legislative scrutiny.”

However, as noted in this article “non-governmental organisations reacted with dismay to the review by the Lords committee, saying that it should not lead to any rolling back of the legislation.” (See also here).

This post encourages those in the U.K. not to get their knickers in a twist. The post provides some historical context about the FCPA- namely that soon after the passage of the FCPA in 1977 the U.S. government undertook various reviews of the FCPA.

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FCPA Flash – A Conversation With Jason Prince

By on April 26, 2018 in Compliance, FCPA Flash, Legislative History
Podcast Logo

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 episode is a conversation with Jason Prince (Holland & Hart who offices in Boise and Washington, D.C.). During the podcast, Prince discusses: (i) FCPA issues for companies in the Rocky Mountain West; (ii) the similarities and differences between FCPA compliance and compliance with other export or international trade regulations; and (iii) how former Idaho Senator Frank Church (who was instrumental in crafting the FCPA) might think about the modern era of FCPA enforcement.

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FCPA Flash – A Conversation With Hannibal Kemerer Regarding The Senate’s 2010 FCPA Hearing And What Has Been Accomplished

By on March 8, 2018 in FCPA Flash, Legislative History
Podcast Logo

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 episode is a conversation with Hannibal Kemerer (Squire Patton Boggs). As former chief counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Crime and Drugs Subcommittee, Kemerer was the lead lawyer for Senator Arlen Specter and has unique insight into why Senator Specter held an FCPA oversight hearing in November 2010 (see here for the hearing transcript, here for the video). During the podcast, Kemerer discusses why Senator Specter held the hearing, what Senator Specter hoped to accomplish in the hearing, and whether the goals of the hearing were actually accomplished. Now in private practice, Kemerer also discusses the difference between approaching FCPA issues from a a private practitioner standpoint compared to a public policy standpoint.

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