SEC FCPA Enforcement – 2017 Year In Review
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, it’s not just about the DOJ.
Granted, as a civil enforcement agency the SEC’s sticks are less sharp than the DOJ’s, but the SEC also claims a significant piece of the FCPA enforcement pie (query whether it should – but that is a subject for another day – for instance as discussed in “The Story of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” the SEC wanted no part in enforcing the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions).
This previous post highlighted various corporate enforcement statistics from 2017 and this post goes in-depth into various facts and figures relevant to SEC FCPA enforcement in 2017. (See here for a similar post for 2016; here for a similar post for 2015; here for a similar post for 2014; here for a similar post for 2013; here for a similar post for 2012; here for a similar post for 2011; and here for a similar post for 2010).
Friday Roundup
Guilty plea, Petrobras civil settlement, Alstom is done reporting, scrutiny alert, SEC FCPA enforcement, from the docket, checking in up north, and for the reading stack. It’s all here in the Friday roundup.
Guilty Plea
As highlighted in this prior post, in January 2017 the DOJ announced an FCPA and related enforcement action against four individuals for their roles in a scheme to pay $2.5 million in bribes to facilitate the $800 million sale of a commercial building in Vietnam (the so-called Landmark 72) to a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund.
Today, the DOJ announced: “Joo Hyun Bahn, aka Dennis Bahn, 39, of Tenafly, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in federal court in Manhattan to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and one count of violating the FCPA. U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos of the Southern District of New York accepted the guilty plea. Sentencing is scheduled for June 29 …”.
Statute of Limitations Tolling in SEC Enforcement Actions Post-Kokesh – An Offer You Can Refuse
A guest post from Kevin Muhlendorf (Wiley Rein and a former SEC Enforcement Division attorney and DOJ Fraud Section prosecutor) and Michelle Bradshaw (Wiley Rein). See here for an FCPA Flash podcast episode with Muhlendorf regarding issues similar to those addressed in this post.
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The Supreme Court has now twice rebuked the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) in unanimous opinions on statutes of limitations. See Gabelli v. Securities and Exchange Commission, 568 U.S. 442 (2013); see also Kokesh v. Securities and Exchange Commission, 137 S. Ct. 1635 (2017).
Friday Roundup
Funny, also funny, corruption in the anti-corruption industry, the head of the DOJ’s FCPA Unit writes, reasons for the general increase in FCPA enforcement, scrutiny alert, asset recovery, and for the reading stack. It’s all here in the Friday roundup.
Funny
This recent FCPA Blog post asked “what’s the most important FCPA case ever” and stated: “The Africa Sting showed how far the feds would go to make a splashy FCPA case. But the final lesson was that using a big sting to concoct a supposed industry-wide conspiracy was a bad idea. The judge didn’t buy it, and neither did a couple of juries.”
Funny that the post doesn’t mention that the the person at the center of this failed, manufactured case was its current Contributing Editor and training partner Richard Bistrong.
Friday Roundup
Quotable, SEC Annual Report, it’s called the rule of law – deal with it, across the pond, more ISO 37001 puff pieces, monitor related, for your viewing pleasure, and for the reading stack. It’s all here in the Friday roundup.
Quotable
To those still hyperventilating about Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement in the Trump administration (see here and here), perhaps this might calm you down. As reported here by Wall Street Journal Risk & Compliance: “[FCPA Unit Chief Daniel Kahn dismissed the suggestion that President Donald Trump‘s previous criticism of the FCPA has had any effect on the department’s enforcement of the law. Mr. Kahn said he “spanned both administrations,” referring to Mr. Trump’s predecessor, President Barack Obama, adding, “I am continuing to do what I do.”