It is as predictable as the sun rising in the east and dogs barking.
In the aftermath of a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action (or mere instances of FCPA scrutiny), plaintiffs’ lawyers representing shareholders on a contingent fee basis file securities fraud claims against the company and/or certain officers or directors. Such FCPA-related claims are frequently dismissed, but the claims nevertheless continue to be filed.
In the latest example, U.S. District Court Judge Ann Donnelly (E.D.N.Y.) recently granted a motion to dismiss filed by Mobile Telesystems PJSC (“MTS) and various individual defendants. As highlighted in prior posts here and here, in 2019 Russia-based MTS agreed to resolve an $850 million DOJ/SEC FCPA enforcement action concerning a telecom bribery scheme in Uzbekistan (the same scheme that previously resulted in FCPA enforcement actions against VimpelCom and Telia).