Top Menu

Navigation

Friday Roundup

By on August 2, 2013 in AB InBev, Avon, Baxter International, ENI, FCPA Statistics, GlaxcoSmithKline, Internal Investigation Issues, Lingua Franca, Multimedia, Origins of FCPA Actions, Pharmaceutical Industry, Wal-Mart, Weatherford International, Year in Review 2013

Scrutiny alerts, misleading yet interesting, the flip side, and for the reading stack.  It’s all here in the Friday roundup.

Scrutiny Updates

Baxter International

The Wall Street Journal reports that Baxter International “investigated a joint venture in China and discovered expense violations there last year.”  According to the article, Baxter took action after employees of Guangzhou Baxter Qiaoguang Healthcare Co., reported problems internally in July 2012.  According to the article, similar allegations were made in July 2013 that “employees at Baxter’s joint venture paid travel agencies for arranging conferences between 2011 and 2012 for Chinese health officials.”  According to the article, “employees at several hotels identified as the conference sites in the documents said they had no records of the conferences.”

ENI

IntelliNews report here:  “ENI SpA  chief executive Paolo Scaroni will become a target of a major US Foreign Corruption Practices Act investigation by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities Exchange Commission in connection with an Algerian bribery scandal, [Italian] judicial sources said.” Among other things, the article states: “Judicial sources in Milan said they have compelling evidence Scaroni had personal knowledge of the bribe paid by SAIPEM and that SAIPEM is directly controlled by ENI and its management.”

As noted in this previous post, Eni has ADRs registered with the SEC.  In 2010, Eni resolved (see here) an SEC FCPA enforcement action concerning Bonny Island, Nigeria conduct.  In resolving the action, Eni consented to the entry of a court order permanently enjoining it from violating the FCPA’s books and record and internal controls provisions.

Weatherford

The company recently disclosed as follows concerning its long-lasting FCPA scrutiny.

“During the quarter ended June 30, 2013, negotiations related to the oil-for-food and FCPA matters progressed to a point where we recognized a liability for a  loss contingency that we believe is probable and for which a reasonable estimate  can be made.  Certain significant issues remain unresolved in the negotiations and, if these issues are not resolved to the Company’s satisfaction,  negotiations may be discontinued and such unresolved issues may ultimately  impact our ability to reach a negotiated resolution of the matters.  At this  time, the Company estimates that the most likely amount of this loss is $153 million.”

A $153 million settlement would be the eighth largest in FCPA history.

Avon

The company recently disclosed as follows concerning its long-lasting FCPA scrutiny.

“As previously reported in August 2012, we are in discussions with the SEC and the DOJ regarding resolving the government investigations. Our factual presentations as part of these discussions are substantially complete. In June 2013, we made an offer of settlement to the DOJ and the SEC that, among other terms, included payment of monetary penalties of approximately $12. The DOJ and the SEC have rejected the terms of our offer. Although we expect that the DOJ and the SEC will make a counterproposal to our offer, they have not yet done so. Our discussions with the DOJ and the SEC are ongoing.

There can be no assurance that a settlement with the SEC and the DOJ will be reached or, if a settlement is reached, the timing of any such settlement or the terms of any such settlement. We expect any such settlement will include civil and/or criminal fines and penalties, and may also include non-monetary remedies, such as oversight requirements and additional remediation and compliance requirements. We may be required to incur significant future costs to comply with the non-monetary terms of any settlement with the SEC and the DOJ. Under certain circumstances, we may also be required to advance significant professional fees and expenses to certain current and former Company employees in connection with these matters. Until any settlement or other resolution of these matters, we expect to continue to incur costs, primarily professional fees and expenses, which may be significant, in connection with the government investigations.
At this point we are unable to predict the developments in, outcome of, and economic and other consequences of the government investigations or their impact on our earnings, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition and ongoing business.  However, based on our most recent discussions with the DOJ and the SEC, the Company believes that it is probable that the Company will incur a loss upon settlement that is higher than the offer made by the Company of approximately $12, which was accrued by the Company as of June 30, 2013. We are unable to reasonably estimate the amount of any additional loss above the amount accrued to date; however it is reasonably possible that such additional loss will be material.”

Owens-Illinois

The beverage company recently disclosed as follows.

“The Company conducted an internal investigation into conduct in certain of its overseas operations that may have violated the anti-bribery provisions of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”), the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions, the Company’s own internal policies, and various local laws. In October 2012, the Company voluntarily disclosed these matters to the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The Company intends to cooperate with any investigation by U.S. authorities. On July 18, 2013, the Company received a letter from the DOJ indicating that it presently did not intend to take any enforcement action and is closing its inquiry into the matter. The Company is presently unable to predict the duration, scope or result of any investigation by the SEC or whether the SEC will commence any legal action.”

AB InBev

The beverage company recently disclosed as follows.

“As previously disclosed, we have been informed by the SEC that it is conducting an investigation into our affiliates in India, including our non-consolidated Indian joint venture, InBev India Int’l Private Ltd, and whether certain relationships of agents and employees were compliant with the FCPA. We continue to cooperate in this investigation and have been informed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) that it is also conducting a similar investigation. Our investigation into the conduct in question is ongoing and we are cooperating with the SEC and the DOJ.”

Misleading Yet Interesting

Perhaps one reason for why there appears to much confusion about the FCPA and FCPA enforcement is due to the vast amount of misleading information in the public domain concerning the FCPA.

This recent article in the Economic Times of India concerning Wal-Mart is an instructive example.

Stating that the FCPA is a “law that prohibits American companies and their foreign subsidiaries from bribing officials” is not a completely accurate statement concerning the scope of the law.  Stating that “the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA are enforced by the Department of Justice and the accounting provisions by the Securities and Exchange Commission” is not completely accurate either.  The SEC can also bring civil actions for FCPA anti-bribery violations and the DOJ can also bring criminal actions for wilful violations of the accounting provisions.

“In 2008, for example, Siemens paid a fine of $1.6 billion, the largest ever for an FCPA violation.”  This is a false statement.  While the Siemens enforcement action is indeed the largest in FCPA history in terms of fine and penalty amount, the amount was $800 million.”

Citing a source that says Wal-Mart’s FCPA scrutiny could result in an enforcement action “between $4.5 billion and $9 billion” is outrageous beyond belief.

Despite its deficiencies, the article highlights an interesting tension between conducting a thorough internal investigation and the treatment of employees.  The article states:

“The long shadow of Bentonville, channelled by the permanent gaze of investigators, is causing angst among the Indian staff of Walmart. A company official quoted earlier says the army of investigators, who enjoy sweeping powers to seize documents and equipment of the staff, are seen by many employees as intrusive and as an extra-judicial authority in the office. For example, the investigators scan even the couriers sent out by the staff. The official quoted above says the objective to ensure FCPA compliance is causing even minor situations to snowball.”

[…]

“In another case, Richard Leonard, a British citizen and general manager for asset protection in India, was on a store visit to Ludhiana, that too with Asia head Price, when he received a frantic call from a colleague that KPMG executives were trying to seize his desktop computer and break open his drawer. He immediately called other colleagues, asking them to stop the investigators from taking possession of his workstation. On his return to the office, Leonard dashed off e-mails to his bosses, including Walmart’s global head Mike Duke, on how employees like him have lost respect in the office and they are being portrayed as “criminals” by independent auditors.”

The article also states:

“Walmart is asking all India employees who have left or been suspended to sign a three-page ‘consultancy and cooperation agreement’, ostensibly with the FCPA fallout in mind. The agreement essentially requires them to make themselves available to provide any information or explanation of materials or documents requested by Walmart or any government authority. “The manner in which lawyers and audit team are going about doing their business, I have started believing that I have done something wrong,” says an employee.”

The Flip Side

This Forbes columnist asks – in the context of GlaxoSmithKline –  “is big pharma addicted to fraud?”

The question reminded me of the spot-on statement previously profiled here.  In a Law360 interview, Stephen Jonas (here), a partner in the Boston office of WilmerHale, was asked “what aspects of law in your practice are in need of reform, and why?”  He stated:

“One area greatly in need of reform, in my view, is the investigation of alleged health care fraud. This is an area in which the government regularly secures enormous settlements, starting in the tens of millions of dollars, and now exponentially expanding to the billions of dollars. Virtually every pharmaceutical company has now been subjected to one or more of these investigations and the results are predictable — enormous monetary contributions to the federal government. I find it hard to believe that wrongdoing is so rampant in this industry that every company has at least several hundred million dollars worth of it. The more likely answer is that these settlements often have far more to do with the leverage the government enjoys than the merits of what the company did or didn’t do. In order to stay in business, pharmaceutical and medical device companies must be able to sell products that can be paid for by Medicaid and Medicare. But a conviction for a health care offense would result in exclusion of the companies from federal health insurance and essentially a death sentence for their business. So they cannot afford to fight even the most debatable of charges. One of the results is that novel legal theories and sketchy evidence will never be tested in a court of law and negotiated settlements (under threat of exclusion) serve as “precedent” for the next case. That is a system badly in need of reform.”

Related to GSK, see here for my recent TV interview with LinkAsia.

Reading Stack

The always informative Miller & Chevalier FCPA Summer Review 2013.  As noted in the review “while investigation activity levels appear robust, the overall pace of  enforcement in 2013, in terms of resolved dispositions, remains at its lowest  level since 2006.”  This is correct, although difficult to square with a recent article from Compliance Week titled “FCPA Enforcement on the Rise Once Again.”  This is why an FCPA lingua franca is so important.  (See prior posts here and here).  Among other things, the Miller & Chevalier review contains useful charts including the nationality of companies under FCPA investigation and the countries implicated most frequently in FCPA enforcement actions.

Press coverage of BSG Resources and Beny Steinmetz (the wealthy Israeli for whom BSG Resources is named) regarding its business in Guinea continues.  (See this recent article from the U.K. Guardian).

An informative read from John Rupp (Covington) on how corporate interests and individual interests in a bribery investigation can collide and what corporate counsel can do to prevent this dynamic.

An interesting read from Trace Blog on how bribery schemes fall apart.  The post states:

“The reality is that many bribery schemes simply self-implode.  Think of it this way, once a bribe is paid, a corresponding debt is created to all who are involved in the scheme:  to the business partner who provides the funds; to the third party “consultant” who launders them through false pretense; to the accountant who cooks the books; to the bagman who delivers the payment; to each and every role player, big or small, who helps to bring about the bribe. At the time, loyalties may seem obvious: each co-conspirator will usually have a clear self-interest in keeping the bribery scheme hidden.  But as situations change, so too do incentives, and in business there are few guarantees as unsure as the honor among thieves.  […] Think of all the bribery stories that have come to light simply by their own accord.”

*****

A good weekend to all.

 

Friday Roundup

By on March 22, 2013 in FCPA Statistics, FCPA Trials, Latin America, Lingua Franca, Microsoft, News Corporation, Optimer Pharmaceutical, SEC, Sig Sauer

An endorsement, it’s an FCPA world,  spot-on, for the reading stack and events of interest.  It’s all here in the Friday roundup.

An Endorsement

Several recent posts (see here for instance) have called for a common FCPA lingua franca including as to what is an FCPA enforcement action.  In this prior post, in an effort to improve the quality and reliability of FCPA statistics and related information, I set forth various metrics for what is an FCPA enforcement action, including the core approach I use in my FCPA data.

Recently Chuck Duross (DOJ FCPA Unit Chief) endorsed the core approach when he stated as follows:

“So the bottom line is, we don’t count statistics the way I guess some of the people, whether it’s the commentators or the media, or law firms and the like.  […]  And so, you know, we count slightly differently by the way, than a lot of people in the public. If you have a parent and two subs plead guilty, and the parent gets a DPA, we don’t count that as three actions. That’s one matter from our prospective, and I think internally it just makes sense for us.”

[The website Main Justice recently posted here the full comments of Duross at the ABA’s National Institute on White Collar Crime] 

As one informed observer recently shared with me, the lack of an FCPA lingua franca “muddies the conversational waters.”

Case in point, earlier this week the Wall Street Journal, citing statistics from a law firm, reported that “since 2009, the Justice Department has brought 108 [FCPA] cases while the SEC has brought 77.”

Using the core approach, the numbers since 2009 are as follows.  DOJ – 46 “core” FCPA enforcement actions; SEC – 50 “core” FCPA enforcement actions.  Obviously, there is a huge difference between these numbers, and even my “core” numbers paint an inadequate picture because many FCPA enforcement actions involve both a DOJ and SEC component based on the same alleged core set of facts.  In short, since 2009, there have been approximately 55 “core” FCPA enforcement actions (and a point could be made that even this number overstates things a bit since it separately counts the seven Panalpina related actions).

For additional reading on a proper perspective on FCPA enforcement statistics, see this prior post.

It’s An FCPA World

Scrutiny alerts / updates regarding Microsoft, News Corp, Optimer Pharmaceuticals and Sig Sauer.

Microsoft

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported here that the DOJ and SEC “are examining kickback allegations made by a former Microsoft representative in China, as well as the company’s relationship with certain resellers and consultants in Romania and Italy.”  According to the article, “the China allegations come from an anonymous tipster who passed them on to U.S. investigators in 2012.”  The article further states that “the allegations in China were also the subject of a 10-month internal investigation [conducted by an outside law firm] that Microsoft concluded in 2010 [and that the investigation] found no evidence of wrongdoing” and that tipster “whose contract [with Microsoft] ended in 2008, was also involved in a labor dispute with Microsoft in China.”

As to Romania, the articles states that “U.S. government investigators are also reviewing whether Microsoft had a role in allegations that resellers offered bribes to secure software deals with Romania’s Ministry of Communications” and that in Italy “the agencies are looking at Microsoft’s dealings with consultants in Italy that specialize in customer-loyalty programs.”  According to the article, the allegations focus on Microsoft’s Italian unit’s use of “consultants as vehicles for lavishing gifts and trips on Italian procurement officials in exchange for government business.”

For additional coverage, see here from the New York Times.

John Frank (Microsoft Vice President & Deputy General Counsel) responded in a company blog post as follows.

“[T]he Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. government is reviewing allegations that Microsoft business partners in three countries may have engaged in illegal activity, and if they did, whether Microsoft played any role in these alleged incidents. We take all allegations brought to our attention seriously, and we cooperate fully in any government inquiries. Like other large companies with operations around the world, we sometimes receive allegations about potential misconduct by employees or business partners, and we investigate them fully, regardless of the source. We also invest heavily in proactive training, compliance systems, monitoring and audits to ensure our business operations around the world meet the highest legal and ethical standards. The matters raised in the Wall Street Journal are important, and it is appropriate that both Microsoft and the government review them. It is also important to remember that it is not unusual for such reviews to find that an allegation was without merit. (The WSJ reported earlier this week that an allegation has been made against the WSJ itself, and that, after a thorough investigation, its lawyers have been unable to determine that there was any wrongdoing). We cannot comment about on-going inquiries, but we would like to share some perspective on our approach to compliance. We are a global company with operations in 112 countries, nearly 98,000 employees and 640,000 business partners. We’re proud of the role we play in bringing technology to businesses, governments, non-profits and consumers around the world and the economic impact we have in local communities. As our company has grown and expanded around the world, one of the things that has been constant has been our commitment to the highest legal and ethical standards wherever we do business. Compliance is the job of every employee at the company, but we also have a group of professionals focused directly on ensuring compliance. We have more than 50 people whose primary role is investigating potential breaches of company policy, and an additional 120 people whose primary role is compliance. In addition, we sometimes retain outside law firms to conduct or assist with investigations. This is a reflection of the size and complexity of our business and the seriousness with which we take meeting our obligations. We also invest in proactive measures including annual training programs for every employee, regular internal audits and multiple levels of approval for contracting and expenditure. In a company of our size, allegations of this nature will be made from time to time. It is also possible there will sometimes be individual employees or business partners who violate our policies and break the law. In a community of 98,000 people and 640,000 partners, it isn’t possible to say there will never be wrongdoing. Our responsibility is to take steps to train our employees, and to build systems to prevent and detect violations, and when we receive allegations, to investigate them fully and take appropriate action. We take that responsibility seriously.”

News Corp.

Earlier in the week, in what was a strange article in that the Wall Street Journal was reporting on itself, the WSJ reported here that “the Justice Department last year opened an investigation into allegations that employees at The Wall Street Journal’s China news bureau bribed Chinese officials for information for news articles.  A search by the Journal’s parent company found no evidence to support the claim, according to government and corporate officials familiar with the case.”  The article states as follows.  “According to U.S. and corporate officials, News Corp. has told the Justice Department that some company officials suspect the informant was an agent of the Chinese government, seeking to disrupt and possibly retaliate against the Journal for its reporting on China’s leadership. The company officials came to that view after finding no evidence of the alleged bribery and because of the timing and nature of the accusations, company officials say.”

The article also states as follows concerning News Corp.’s overall FCPA scrutiny which splashed onto the scene in July 2011 (see here for the prior post).

“Since 2011, the Justice Department has been overseeing a criminal investigation of News Corp. relating to revelations that its British papers hacked phones and bribed public officials to get information for articles. Almost two years later, that probe is nearing completion, government and company officials said, setting the stage for settlement negotiations between the U.S. and News Corp.  News Corp., which has hired law firm Williams & Connolly to oversee the FCPA case, is expected to make its final presentation detailing the company’s global bribery investigation to the Justice Department next month, according to people familiar with the matter. It will be then up to the Justice Department to spell out what punishment or sanctions, if any, the agency wants, and at that point negotiations will likely begin. The Justice Department doesn’t publicly discuss cases that close without charges filed. Both sides expect an agreement would include a monetary settlement of some kind, based on the alleged violations in the U.K. The government has also investigated potential misconduct in the company’s former Russian outdoor billboard subsidiary, according to people familiar with the case, specifically whether it paid bribes to local officials to approve sign placements in that country.”

Optimer Pharmaceuticals

Optimer (see here for the prior post) disclosed as follows in a recent SEC filing.

In March 2012, we became aware of an attempted grant in September 2011 to Dr. Michael Chang of 1.5 million technical shares of OBI.  We engaged external counsel to assist us in an internal review and determined that the attempted grant may have violated certain applicable laws, including the FCPA.  In April 2012, we self-reported the results of our preliminary findings to the SEC and the DOJ, which included information about the attempted grant and certain related matters, including a potentially improper $300,000 payment in July 2011 to a research laboratory involving an individual associated with the OBI [Optimer Biotechnology, Inc.] share grant. At that time, we terminated the employment of our then-Chief Financial Officer and our then-Vice President, Clinical Development. We also removed Dr. Michael Chang as the Chairman of our Board of Directors and requested that Dr. Michael Chang resign from the Board of Directors, which he has not. We continued our investigation and our cooperation with the SEC and the DOJ.  As a result of our continuing internal investigation, in February 2013, the independent members of our Board of Directors determined that additional remedial action should be taken in light of prior compliance, record keeping and conflict-of-interest issues surrounding the potentially improper payment to the research laboratory and certain related matters. On February 26, 2013, our then-President and Chief Executive Officer and our then-General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer resigned at the request of the independent members of our Board of Directors.  In addition, over the past year, we have revised our compliance policies, strengthened our approval procedures and implemented training and internal audit procedures to make our compliance and monitoring more comprehensive.  We continue to cooperate with the SEC and DOJ, including by responding to informal document and interview requests, conducting in-person meetings and updating these authorities on our findings with respect to the attempted OBI technical share grant, the potentially improper payment to the research laboratory and certain matters that may be related.”

Sig Sauer

The Indian Express reports here reports allegations that Sig Sauer (a U.S. arms manufacturer) conspired with an Indian agent and his associates “to sell arms to India in violation of the FCPA and Indian laws. A JV called Sig Sauer Asia LLC was created with the sole purpose of paying 10 per cent commission on all arms deals made with the Defence and Home ministries in India.”

Spot-On

In a recent Q&A on Law360, William Goodman (Kasowitz) stated as follows.

“Q: What aspects of your practice area are in need of reform and why?

A: In the area of federal criminal practice, there must be reform in and reduction of the power of prosecutors to force individuals and corporations to cooperate in marginal cases by threatening draconian outcomes if cooperation is not forthcoming. This practice is particularly reprehensible because it does not achieve anything approaching a fair result in many cases. When lawyers and clients have to cave in to pressure based on a threatened punishment and not based on the merits of the case, the truth and genuine justice take a back seat to expediency.”

In this recent Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal titled “Corporate Crime and Punishment” David Rivkin and John Carney stated as follows.

“Two weeks ago, a unanimous Supreme Court rebuffed the Securities and Exchange Commission Gabelli v. SEC. The SEC maintained that its enforcement actions for fines under the Investment Advisers Act weren’t subject to the five-year statute of limitations. This wasn’t the first time the courts have pushed back a federal agency for overreaching. It won’t be the last.  But the SEC’s audacity prompts a broader policy question: What good is accomplished by imposing monetary penalties on corporations, as the agency attempted to do in Gabelli? The answer is that when such penalties are sought by the government, they probably do more harm than good.  Monetary damages, including penalties, that are awarded in private lawsuits are an attempt to compensate victims of corporate fraud and other unlawful behavior, usually shareholders or customers, making them as “whole” as the law can approximate. The SEC doesn’t seek monetary fines in most cases—it has an array of other enforcement options including injunctive or remedial relief. When it does pursue a fine, however, the purpose is solely punitive. In Gabelli, for example, the SEC brought two sets of claims against principals of an investment firm who countenanced a client’s “market timing” scheme. The first claim sought disgorgement of profits to the government—a remedy that Gabelli didn’t appeal. But the SEC also sought large monetary fines designed solely to punish the defendants and brand them as wrongdoers. Who is the wrongdoer in such a situation? The company officials who made the bad decisions? The board of directors? The shareholders? Pinning a wrongdoer label on the corporation as a whole or fining a corporation in this way—years after any alleged wrongdoing—punishes current shareholders for conduct that benefited a largely different group of shareholders, if any benefit was conferred at all. From a current shareholder’s point of view, government-imposed corporate fines are virtually indistinguishable from a tax on investing, and are thus a disincentive for doing so.”

[…]

“The principal rationale for levying fines is to deter corporate wrongdoing. The mismatch between the shareholders that benefit from misconduct and those that are ultimately punished undermines this rationale.  Corporate fines are equally problematic when considered as punishment for a manager’s bad conduct. Fine an individual for his conduct, and you are likely to deter him from doing it again. Fine a corporation, and the managers responsible for the misconduct have almost always left or been fired long beforehand. New managers are in place, and for them the tab is just a price of doing business.  Moreover, even the threat of government fines or penalties puts immediate, intense pressure on a corporation to settle, regardless of the merits. A protracted legal fight means a public-relations nightmare. It could also impinge on corporate earnings, the reputations of current executives, and relationships with regulators and other business concerns.  Whether the corporation is actually culpable of wrongdoing is a consideration, but it may not be a major one. That question can be beside the point of getting back to business and avoiding a prolonged battle with the SEC. In the large number of settlement scenarios where actual guilt isn’t the most pressing or relevant consideration, the fines don’t by definition deter any future misconduct.  In any event, when the government obtains fines from corporate wrongdoers, the monies rarely go to any ascertainable “victims”—they merely transfer funds from businesses to an already bloated public sector. With the aggregate penalties often running into the billions of dollars, the economic distortions involved are substantial.”

“More recently, the SEC fined Eli Lilly $29 million in December 2012 for alleged misconduct that purportedly began more than a decade ago.”

As I highlighted in this post, it is an open question whether the Lilly enforcement action really accomplished anything.

Reading Stack

This recent Debevoise & Plimpton FCPA Update focuses on Latin America and contains useful charts of corporate enforcement actions, individual enforcement actions, and instances of FCPA scrutiny (2005 to 2012) that have involved alleged business conduct in Latin America.  Over at his FCPAmericas blog, Matt Ellis also recently posted here and here FCPA enforcement actions involving conduct in Latin America.

A useful update here from WilmerHale titled “Recent Court Decisions Reveal Litigation Challenges for SEC.”  It begins as follows.

“Although the US Securities and Exchange Commission may have significant leverage to get what it wants during the course of an investigation and even in settlements, several recent court decisions strongly suggest that the playing field levels once the agency ends up in litigation. From the US Supreme Court to the federal district courts, litigants are pushing back effectively against the SEC on everything from when the clock starts for the SEC to bring an action for civil monetary penalties to key discovery questions.”

From Sidley & Austin attorneys Kimberly Dunne and Alexis Buese an article (here) titled “Holding the Government to its Burden of Proof in FCPA Cases:  Litigating Jury Instructions.”  The article notes as follows.

“Unlike corporate defendants that resolved FCPA investigations pre‐indictment, individual defendants were not as willing to accept the government’s aggressive pre‐indictment demands or its broad interpretation of the statute, which the defense bar considered vague and untested. What ensued from the indictments that followed were a number of defense upsets.”

In my 2010 article “The Facade of FCPA Enforcement,” I noted that government enforcement agencies, when challenged, are vulnerable in contested actions and encouraged more FCPA defendants to challenge the enforcement agencies and further expose the facade of FCPA enforcement.

Events of Interest

Dow Jones Global Compliance Symposium, April 2-3 in Washington, D.C..  I will be participating in a panel titled “The FCPA:  Does It Need Further Clarifying” along with Paul McNulty (Baker & McKenzie and former Deputy Attorney General) and David Yawman (Senior Vice President & Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer, PepsiCo, Inc.).  The panel is being moderated by Joe Palazzolo of the Wall Street Journal.

TRACE International, in partnership with Barrick Gold Corporation and Arnold & Porter LLP, presents a 1-day seminar on Anti-Corruption for the Extractive Industries being held on April 23, 2013 in Toronto, Canada.  (See here).

Neither Admit Nor Deny: Corporate Crime in the Age of Deferred Prosecutions, Consent Decrees, Whistleblowers and Monitors sponsored by Corporate Crime Reporter at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on May 3.  I will be participating in a panel titled “Deferred and Non-Prosecution Agreements” along with Anthony Barkow (Jenner & Block), Steven Fagell (Covington), Kathleen Harris (Arnold & Porter), Denis McInerney (Deputy Assistant Attorney General, DOJ Criminal Division), and David Uhlmann (Univ. of Michigan Law School).

*****

A good weekend to all and good luck with your brackets.

The Need For An FCPA Lingua Franca

By on March 7, 2013 in 3M, Declination Decisions, Keyuan Petrochemical, Lingua Franca, Nabors Industries, Zimmer Holdings

There is a need for a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act lingua franca.  The absence of a lingua franca has all sorts of negative effects, including an impact on the quality of FCPA enforcement and related statistics.  I previously wrote about this issue here (“What is an FCPA Enforcement Action”), here (“The Need For a Consensus ‘Declination’ Definition”) and here (“Further to the Definition of ‘Declination'”).

Several recent events have put into sharper focus the need for an FCPA lingua franca – both as to what is an FCPA enforcement action and what is a declination.

What is an FCPA Enforcement Action?

Last week, a guest post on the FCPA Blog by Marc Alain Bohn (Miller & Chevalier) contained the headline “Year’s First FCPA Enforcement Action Flies Under the Radar.”  The post concerned this February 28th SEC enforcement action against Keyuan Petrochemicals, Inc. and Aichun Li (the company’s CFO).   To be sure, it was a nice find by Bohn and I agree with his statement that the action, regardless of what it is called, is significant because it was an SEC enforcement action against a China-based company whose stock is registered with the SEC and traded in the U.S.

The enforcement action was principally based on Keyuan’s systematic failure “to disclose in its SEC filings numerous material related party transactions between the company and its CEO and controlling shareholders, entities controlled by or affiliated with these persons, and entities controlled by Kenyuan’s management or their family members.”  As alleged by the SEC, “the related party transactions took the form of sales of products, purchases of raw materials, loan guarantees and short term cash transfers for financing purposes.”

The enforcement action also included allegations that Kenyuan “operated an off-balance sheet cash account that was kept off the company books.”  According to the SEC, “the account was used to pay for various items, including cash bonuses for senior officers, fees to consultants who provided technical services to the company, and reimbursements to the CEO for business expenses, including travel, entertainment, and rent for an apartment.”  Later in the complaint, the SEC alleges as follows regarding the “off-balance sheet cash account.”

“From at least July 2008 and continuing until March 2011, Keyuan maintained an off-balance sheet cash account. Total amounts funded to and disbursed from the account were approximately $1 million. As a consequence of the use of the off-balance sheet cash account, the company’s reported balances in its financial statements for cash, receivables, construction-in progress, interest income, other income, and general and administrative expenses were misstated.  Cash disbursements from the off-balance sheet account were used to pay for various expenses. For instance, cash bonuses were paid to senior officers, including Individual A, in 2010 from the off-balance sheet cash account; Keyuan did not withhold any taxes on these bonus payments. Keyuan also paid various technical experts that provided consulting services from this account; no provision was made by Keyuan to pay local taxes in connection with these payments. The company’s CEO also received cash disbursements from the off-balance sheet cash account, including funds to cover business expenses (such as travel and entertainment) and to cover the costs of an apartment near the plant facilities.”

As detailed in this prior post,  the FCPA of course is a law much broader than its name suggests.  The FCPA’s books and records and internal control provisions are among the most generic substantive legal provisions one can find and the SEC often brings what I’ve called “non-FCPA FCPA enforcement actions.”

In the Keyuan enforcement action it is thus not surprising that the SEC charged violations of the FCPA’s books and records and internal control provisions based on the above conduct.

Yet, as Bohn correctly points out in his FCPA Blog post, the SEC complaint also did made passing reference, in detailing the off-balance sheet cash account, that it “was also used to fund gifts – both cash and non-cash – for Chinese government officials.”  Specifically, in paragraph 42 of the complaint the SEC alleges as follows.

“The off-balance sheet cash account was also used, in part, to fund gifts to Chinese government officials, typically around the Chinese New Year.  Among the recipients of the gifts were officials from the local environment, port, police, and fire departments.  Gifts ranged from household goods (such as beddings and linens) to ‘red envelope’ gifts in which cash was directly gifted to the recipients”

Of note, in the SEC’s summary paragraphs (paras. 45 and 46) titled “False Books and Records and Inadequate Internal Controls,” the SEC makes explicit reference to certain conduct, but not the above paragraph related to Chinese government officials.

So the issue becomes what to make of this one paragraph of the 18 page SEC complaint and what to call the Keyuan Petrochemicals enforcement action?

Is it an FCPA enforcement action?

In this prior post, I set forth my criteria for an FCPA enforcement action, in pertinent part, as follows.

(1) An FCPA enforcement action is an instance in which an enforcement agency (whether DOJ or SEC) charges or finds that the FCPA (whether its anti-bribery, books and records, or internal controls provisions) has been violated.

(2) As to FCPA books and records or internal control charges or findings, such actions are only FCPA enforcement actions to the extent categorized as such by either the DOJ or SEC on its FCPA websites.

In the Keyuan Petrochemicals enforcement action, the SEC did indeed charge (as it charges in many non-FCPA FCPA enforcement actions) violations of the books and records and internal controls provisions.  However, my criteria (2) is that such charges should only be considered FCPA enforcement actions to the extent categorized as such by either the DOJ or SEC or its FCPA website.  The SEC’s FCPA website (here) does not include the Keyuan Petrochemicals action.  On that basis, and consistent with my criteria, I am not going to call it an FCPA enforcement action either.

In many respects, the Keyuan Petrochemicals enforcement action is similar to the SEC’s 2012 enforcement action against former Digi International CFO Subramanian Krishnan (see here for the prior post).  That action, like the Keyuan Petrochemical action, is also not listed on the SEC’s FCPA website.

In short, what one calls an action matters.  Just using the Kenyuan example, FCPA enforcement thus far in 2013 is either 1 action with $1,025,000 collected (Keyuan agreed to pay a $1,000,000 civil penalty and Li agreed to pay a $25,000 civil penalty) or 0 actions, $0 collected.

“What is a Declination?

The good-faith debate as to the “d” word continues.  In addition, to the declination posts highlighted above in the first paragraph, see this recent FCPA Blog guest post, also by Marc Alain Bohn.

In recent weeks, the FCPA Blog (and others – there is a certain herd mentality when it comes to such things) have called the end of FCPA scrutiny for Nabors Industries, Zimmer Holdings, and 3M – declinations.  “Nabors Wins Declination” – “Double Declination for Zimmer” – “Declination for 3m.”

I again respectfully disagree and ask why are some calling these instances of FCPA scrutiny declinations?  In doing so, I am guided by my definition of a declination as being an instance in which an enforcement agency has concluded that it could bring a case, consistent with its burden of proof as to all necessary elements, yet decides not to pursue the action.  (Others have offered the same definition – see here for a Wilmer Hale Client Alert -”the concept of a declination is supposed to be reserved for instances in which the offense is chargeable but the government declines in its own discretion to bring a case”).

The FCPA scrutiny of both Nabors and Zimmer can be analyzed together because both companies were the subject of FCPA scrutiny because of an industry sweep.

In its February 20th SEC filing, Nabors stated, in pertinent part, as follows.

“We previously disclosed that on July 5, 2007, we received an inquiry from the U.S. Department of Justice relating to its investigation of one of our vendors [Panalpina] and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The inquiry related to transactions with and involving Panalpina, which provided freight forwarding and customs clearance services to some of our affiliates. In 2012, the SEC advised us that it had concluded its review of the matter and did not intend to recommend any enforcement action against us. On February 15, 2013, the Department of Justice likewise advised us that it has concluded its inquiry, also without recommending any enforcement action against us.”

In its February 27th SEC filing, Zimmer stated, in pertinent part, as follows.

“In September 2007, the Staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) informed us that it was conducting an investigation regarding potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the sale of medical devices in a number of foreign countries by companies in the medical device industry. In November 2007, we received a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) requesting that any information provided to the SEC also be provided to the DOJ on a voluntary basis. In the first quarter of 2011, we received a subpoena from the SEC seeking documents and other records pertaining to our business activities in substantially all countries in the Asia Pacific region where we operate. We produced documents responsive to the subpoena and reported to the government concerning the results of our own reviews regarding FCPA compliance. During a meeting in December 2012, representatives from the agencies informed us that the SEC and the DOJ planned to close their investigation without pursuing any enforcement action against us. The DOJ and SEC formally notified us through letters of declination dated December 19, 2012 and February 1, 2013, respectively, that the agencies have closed their inquiries into this matter. While we are pleased with the government’s declination decision in this matter, we are committed to continuing to enhance our global anti-corruption compliance program.”

Using the above definition of declinations, I previously stated that anything less ought not be termed a ”declination” and noted that it is really no different that saying a police officer “declined” to issue a speeding ticket in an instance in which the driver was not speeding.  This is not a declination, it is what the law commands, and such reasoning applies in the FCPA context as well.

Sticking with the law enforcement analogy, calling an instance of FCPA scrutiny resulting from an industry sweep that does not result in an enforcement action a declination, is like saying the police “declined” to charge one with drunk driving if a sober driver successfully passes through a law enforcement sobriety checkpoint.  That is not a declination, it is what the law commands, and such reasoning applies in the FCPA context as well.

In its February 14th SEC filing, 3M stated, in pertinent part, as follows.

“In November 2009, the Company contacted the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to voluntarily disclose that the Company was conducting an internal investigation as a result of reports it received about its subsidiary in Turkey, alleging bid rigging and bribery and other inappropriate conduct in connection with the supply of certain reflective and other materials and related services to Turkish government entities. The Company also contacted certain affected government agencies in Turkey. In September 2012, the Turkish Competition Authority issued its decision finding that there was insufficient evidence obtained in the investigation to find that 3M Turkey or the other companies investigated violated the Turkish competition law.  The Company retained outside counsel to conduct an assessment of its policies, practices, and controls and to evaluate its overall compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), including a review of its practices in certain other countries and acquired entities. As part of its review, the Company has also reported to the DOJ and SEC issues arising from transactions in other countries. In January 2013, the DOJ and SEC each notified the Company that they are terminating their investigations into possible violations of the FCPA without taking any action or imposing any fines against the Company. Among the reasons cited by the DOJ for closing its investigation included the Company’s voluntary disclosure and cooperation, the Company’s thorough investigation, and the steps the Company has taken to enhance its anti-corruption compliance program.”

There is nothing in this disclosure to suggest that the definition of declination has been met.  Indeed, given that Turkish authorities concluded that there was “insufficient evidence” as to certain of the disclosed conduct, speaks to perhaps the quality of information 3M initially received as to its subsidiary.

Of course, if my declination proposal (see here from August 2010) were to be adopted, we would likely know the answer as to why the DOJ and SEC did not bring an enforcement action as a result of 3M’s voluntary disclosure.

*****

Further to declination issues, I could not help but notice in the U.S.’s recent ((Jan. 28, 2013) “Final Follow-Up to Phase 3 Report and Recommendations” (a document that, to my knowledge has yet to be covered elsewhere) the U.S. acknowledged that it “has declined to bring criminal charges in some cases, in part due to lack of admissible evidence obtained prior to the statute of limitations.”  This reason for “declining” is self-obvious, but there was no mention of it in the November 2012 FCPA Guidance section on declinations, likely because it did not advance the enforcement agencies’ policy positions.

Finally, if you have not yet read “Legal Limbo – Seeking Clarity In How and When The Department of Justice Declines to Prosecute” by George Terwilliger and Matthew Miner, put it on your reading stack.  Like my 2010 declination proposal and the policy rationales behind it, Legal Limbo states, in pertinent part, as follows.

“While the cases DOJ elects to prosecute are well known, better understanding of the parameters of its decisions to forego prosecution can add significantly to the body of guidance available to the business community. In addition, fundamental fairness dictates that decisions not to prosecute be communicated to affected parties as soon as possible.”

“Legal Limbo” notes that a “little bit of daylight on the declination process could help light corporations’ way to improved compliance with legal requirements and enforcement expectations within their operations” and it proposes as follows.

 “First […], notice of declinations be issued presumptively, rather than permissively following a declination decision. This practice could be subject to clearly-stated and narrowly defined exceptions that are necessary to protect the Department’s interests in ongoing investigations.

Second […], the Department publish an annual report summarizing the circumstances or key factors underlying major declination decisions. Such a report should be drafted with the goal of providing maximum guidance as to the factors underlying the Department’s declination determinations by case category, while also protecting the identities of those who had been investigated. Such a reform could be presented in a categorical fashion so that companies facing investigations are provided a better understanding of the types of conduct leading to a declination decision.”

Further To The Definition Of “Declination”

By on January 24, 2013 in Declination Decisions, Lingua Franca, Voluntary Disclosure

Earlier this week on the FCPA Blog (see here), Marc Alain Bohn (Miller & Chevalier) responded to my recent post “The Need for a Consensus Declination Definition.”  In that post, I offered my definition of a declination as being – an instance in which an enforcement agency has concluded that it could bring a case, consistent with its burden of proof as to all necessary elements, yet decides not to pursue the action.  I then concluded the post by stating that anything less ought not be termed a declination, but rather what the law commands.

Bohn called my arguments “strong” and in the “abstract” he agreed with my declination definition.

Yet, Bohn also stated as follows.  “As a practical matter, however, [my proposed] definition runs into difficulties, primarily because of the dearth of information surrounding decisions by the DOJ and SEC to conclude investigations without pursuing enforcement actions” and that “it is nearly impossible for those not directly involved in a matter to conclude why the agencies have decided not to pursue an enforcement action—even those directly involved may not have a full understanding.”

Bohn, of course, is spot-on as to his observations regarding the lack of transparency in FCPA enforcement and it is meaningful to read an FCPA practitioner write that “even those directly involved” in an FCPA matter “may not have a full understanding” of how the enforcement agencies decided to resolve a manner.

Bohn then writes as follows.

“Without more transparency from the agencies on the rationale behind their enforcement decisions, I think it is appropriate to apply the short-hand label “declination” more broadly to each instance where the DOJ or SEC has notified a company that it does not intend to bring an enforcement action. Including all such agency decisions is really the only way to consistently and systematically track possible declinations writ large.

Moreover, there is value in adopting this broader definition, particularly in instances where the issues involved were serious enough that a company opted to self-report the matter to the government and the agencies, in turn, followed-up with requests for additional information. In the wake of such self-reports, decisions by the agencies not to take the next step and pursue enforcement actions are significant and worth recognizing.”

My response relates to Bohn’s statement concerning “instances where the issues involved were serious enough that a company opted to self-report the matter to the government and the agencies, in turn, followed-up with requests for additional information. In the wake of such self-reports, decisions by the agencies not to take the next step and pursue enforcement actions are significant and worth recognizing.”

My response is the same as in this August 2011 post regarding an excellent article Bohn co-authored regarding declinations.

Based on my FCPA practice experience and my more recent conversations with FCPA practitioners concerning this issue, I am not willing to assume that an issue is “serious enough” from an FCPA liability risk perspective simply because a company voluntarily disclosed to the enforcement agencies.

In short, and as explained in the prior post, different FCPA practitioners as well as the companies they represent, have different trigger thresholds for voluntary disclosures.

In other words, not all voluntarily discloses are created equal.  Some voluntary disclosures are a reactionary, risk averse decision and occur before even the company knows the full facts.  Other voluntary disclosure decisions (and here, to be clear, I am not speaking of Bohn or his firm) occur in the context of significant conflicts of interest for FCPA lawyers – see here for a 2009 post titled “Voluntary Disclosure and the Role of FCPA Counsel” which discusses how voluntary disclosures lead to the “where else” question, which leads to, well, a few years of billable work.  Indeed, as an FCPA practitioner (and a notable one at that) commented to the Wall Street Journal in connection with its FCPA Inc.: Business of Bribery articles this past October (see here for the prior post), “if you get two of these [FCPA investigations] a year as a partner, you’re pretty much set.”

It is precisely because of the lack of transparency that Bohn cites, that I proposed beginning in August 2010 (see here), that in instances where a company voluntarily discloses potential FCPA issues to the DOJ and SEC, and when the enforcement agencies decline enforcement, that the DOJ or SEC publicly state, in a thorough and transparent manner, the facts the company disclosed to the agencies and why the agencies declined enforcement on those facts.

I noted then, and repeat now, that this proposal would not only increase transparency (recall that Lanny Breuer stated at the Guidance press conference – here – that the DOJ strives to be “transparent” as to its FCPA enforcement program), but also inject some much-needed discipline into the voluntary disclosure decision itself.

The Need For A Consensus “Declination” Definition

By on January 15, 2013 in Declination Decisions, Deere & Co., Lingua Franca, W.W. Grainger

A pressing quality of FCPA information issue is the meaning of “declination.”    

The purpose of this post is similar to this recent post titled “What is a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement Action?”  That is, to improve the quality and reliability of FCPA “declination” statistics given that such a statistic has become a new datapoint of interest.

As discussed in my article “Grading the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Guidance” (here), to my knowledge, the DOJ has never offered a declination definition, but perhaps in an effort to portray a fair and balanced FCPA enforcement program, the DOJ appears to be advocating an expansive definition.

Using two recent examples of FCPA scrutiny, I discuss below how certain FCPA commentators are also liberally applying the declination label to instances of FCPA scrutiny that do not result in any FCPA enforcement action.  I then suggest a declination definition.

Deere

As highlighted in this prior post, in August 2011 various media outlets reported that Deere received an inquiry from regulators in July regarding alleged payments made in Russia and nearby countries.  In a subsequent statement, Deere stated as follows.  “On July 25, 2011, Deere received a request from the SEC that it voluntarily produce documents relating to Deere’s activities, and those of third parties, in certain foreign countries. Deere is cooperating with the SEC’s requests.”

In a press release (here) last week, Deere stated as follows.

“Deere & Company has been notified in a letter from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Enforcement Division staff that it has completed an investigation of Deere and does not plan to pursue any enforcement action.  In August 2011, news media reported that Deere & Company was subject to an inquiry concerning alleged payments to foreign officials in Russia and surrounding countries. At that time, Deere stated that it had received a request from the SEC that Deere produce documents related to the company’s activities, and those of third parties, in certain foreign countries.  Deere said it fully cooperated with the SEC during the investigation and is pleased to report this conclusion. The company also stated that Deere remains committed to its core value of doing business with the highest integrity around the globe.

Soon thereafter (see here), the FCPA Blog termed the resolution of Deere’s FCPA scrutiny as a “declination.”

W.W. Grainger

Another liberal use of the term “declination” occurred in the context of W.W. Grainger’s recent FCPA scrutiny.  (See here for the prior post discussing the company’s disclosure).  In November 2012, Grainger updated its prior disclosure in a quarterly filing and stated as follows.

“As previously reported, the Company has been conducting an inquiry into alleged falsification of expense reimbursement forms submitted by employees in certain sales offices of Grainger China LLC, a subsidiary of the Company. In the course of the investigation the Company learned that sales employees may have provided prepaid gift cards to certain customers.  The company’s investigation included determining whether there were any violations of laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The Company retained outside counsel to assist in its investigation of this matter. On January 24, 2012, the Company contacted the DOJ and the Securities and Exchange Commission to voluntarily disclose that the Company was conducting an internal investigation, and agreed to fully cooperate and update the DOJ and SEC periodically on further developments. The results of the investigation, which have been submitted to the DOJ and the SEC, did not substantiate initial information suggesting significant use of gift cards for improper purposes.  On August 14, 2012, the DOJ closed its inquiry into this matter.”  (emphasis added).

Soon thereafter (see here), the FCPA blog stated in a headline that “after China investigation, Grainger wins DOJ declination.”

Declination?

The company specifically disclosed that it did not “substantiate initial information” suggesting potential FCPA issues.

How is this a declination?

In this prior post, I offered my definition of a declination as being – an instance in which an enforcement agency has concluded that it could bring a case, consistent with its burden of proof as to all necessary elements, yet decides not to pursue the action.  Others have offered the same definition (see here for a Wilmer Hale Client Alert -“the concept of a declination is supposed to be reserved for instances in which the offense is chargeable but the government declines in its own discretion to bring a case”).

Anything less ought not be termed a “declination.”   It is really no different that saying a police officer “declined” to issue a speeding ticket in an instance in which the driver was not speeding.  This is not a declination, it is what the law commands, and such reasoning applies in the FCPA context as well.

Powered by WordPress. Designed by WooThemes