In 2012 Pfizer resolved a $60 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act action concerning conduct in Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Serbia. (See here).
Beginning in 2019, Pfizer disclosed new FCPA scrutiny.
Pfizer disclosed additional FCPA scrutiny in 2020.
As highlighted here, in 2019 Cognizant Technology Solutions resolved a $25 million SEC FCPA enforcement action in connection with various licenses and permits in India.
As often happens in the aftermath of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act scrutiny or enforcement, plaintiff lawyers representing shareholders filed related civil claims.
Several related derivative actions against current and former members of Cognizant’s board as well as current and former Cognizant executive officers were filed and consolidated into one action.
Recently, the court dismissed the consolidated actions (see here) and in doing so concluded, among other things, that plaintiffs’ so-called Caremark claims were not viable.
As highlighted here, in March 2016 Olympus Latin American Inc. (OLA), a Miami-headquartered company that distributes medical imaging equipment in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America for Olympus Corporation (a Japanese company) resolved an approximate $23 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action through a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA).
According to the charging documents, from 2006 to 2011 OLA provided approximately $3 million in “hundreds of unlawful payments” to publicly employed healthcare professionals in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, and Costa Rica to “induce the purchase of Olympus products, influence public tenders, or prevent public institutions from purchasing or converting to the technology of competitors.”
Missing evidence, $10, and scrutiny alert.
It’s all here in the Friday roundup.
Missing Evidence?
In 2017 (in connection with an undercover string) the DOJ unsealed criminal charges against Joseph Baptiste (a retired U.S. Army Colonel, practicing dentist, and founder / president of a Maryland-based Haitian focused non-profit) for alleged Haitian bribery. In 2018 the DOJ added criminal charges against Roger Boncy in connection with the same core conduct. (See here).
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act settlement amounts are one obvious consequence of FCPA non-compliance and tend to generate the most headlines.
However, as has been discussed on these pages for years including in this article “FCPA Ripples”, settlement amounts are only one consequence of the overall financial ramifications of FCPA scrutiny and enforcement.
As highlighted in this prior post, in October 2020 Goldman Sachs resolved a net $1.66 billion DOJ/SEC FCPA enforcement action in connection with its participation in 1MDB (Malaysia’s state-owned and state-controlled investment development company).
As often happens in connection with FCPA scrutiny or enforcement, lawyers representing shareholders filed civil actions including derivative actions alleging that Goldman officers and directors breached fiduciary duties in connection with the underlying conduct.
