Checking In On The FAT Brands Matter
In May 2024, FAT Brands (a global franchising company which owns 18 restaurant brands including Johnny Rockets, Fazoli’s, Ponderosa, and Bonanza Steakhouses) as well as various current or former executives were civilly charged by the SEC and criminally charged by the DOJ. (See here for the prior post).
The matter was highlighted on these pages because it was example of a so-called non-FCPA, FCPA enforcement action (that is an action that charged violations of the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions yet had nothing to do with alleged foreign bribery).
Issues To Consider From The Tenaris Enforcement Action
This post highlighted the recent $78.1 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action against Tenaris (the second time the company has resolved an FCPA enforcement action in the last approximate decade).
This post highlights additional issues to consider from the enforcement action.
Timeline
Tenaris “voluntarily notified” the SEC and DOJ of the matters involved in the enforcement action in October 2016.
For Your Listening Enjoyment
Tired of reading about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act?
Well, sometimes I get tired writing about the FCPA.
Thus, today’s post is this link to a recent episode of the In-House Warrior podcast. During the podcast, I speak to Richard Levick about the following FCPA topics: how compliance professionals need to gain comfort with FCPA uncertainty; FCPA enforcement during a Biden administration; whether the FCPA has been successful in achieving its objectives; what the “b” word (bribery) means; and how corporate risk aversion is, in part, part of the reason for the current FCPA enforcement landscape.
Regarding “Competitive Disadvantage”
Pursuant to various securities laws rules and regulations, issuers are required to disclose risks in various required filings.
With increasing frequency, such risk disclosures take up several pages and often serve as little more than defensive disclosures to guard against opportunistic plaintiffs’ counsel who may allege securities fraud if the issuer did not disclose to investors obvious risks that may impact the company.
For instance, this recent 10-K filing of Nova Lifestyle Inc. (a California-based furniture company) contains approximately 35 risk factors including the following obvious risks:
FCPA Flash Podcast – A Conversation With James Noe Regarding FCPA Issues In The Oil And Gas Industry
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 James Noe (special counsel with Jones Walker LLP who previously served in various in-house counsel and executive roles with several oil and gas companies). During the podcast, Noe discusses: the easiest and most difficult aspects of FCPA compliance in the oil and gas industry; the extent of facilitating payments in the industry; whether oil and gas companies are too risk averse when it comes to FCPA issues; and civil actions by industry participants when business is lost because of a refusal to make bribe payments.