SEC Co-Director Of Enforcement Peikin Reflects On The Past, Present, And Future Of The SEC’s Enforcement Of The FCPA
Earlier today, Steven Peikin (Co-Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division) delivered this speech at a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act / OECD Convention Anniversary Conference held at NYU School of Law. This post excerpts portions of Peikn’s remarks.
But first a few comments.
In talking about the past, I wonder if Peikin is even aware of the following historical fact. As highlighted in the article “The Story of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” the SEC never wanted any role in enforcing the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions. However, congressional leaders at the time of the FCPA’s enactment had a high level of distrust with the Justice Department and insisted, against the SEC’s objections both when the FCPA was enacted in 1977 and when it was first amended in 1988, that it play a role in enforcing the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions.
Friday Roundup
Funny headline, just plain silly, new SEC FCPA Unit Chief, parallel, scrutiny alerts and updates, company continues to “boil the ocean,” and ISO 37001 related. It’s all here in the Friday Roundup.
Funny Headline
This Global Investigations Review post contains the headline “Former FCPA Unit Chiefs Defend the ‘Revolving Door’”.
That’s funny. I suppose if I moved from a government enforcement attorney position to a multimillion dollar position in FCPA Inc. defending companies against the enforcement climate I helped create, I might defend the practice as well.
FCPA Flash – A Conversation With Claudius Sokenu
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 Claudius Sokenu. Sokenu is among a small number of individuals who has experienced the FCPA from three different vantage points. First, Sokenu was Senior Counsel at the SEC’s Enforcement Division where he worked on FCPA matters. Second, Sokenu was a partner at various leading law firms where his practiced focused on the FCPA. Currently, Sokenu is Deputy General Counsel, Global Head of Litigation, Global Head of Compliance, and Global Head of Legal-Supply Chain at Andeavor (a Texas-based refining, marketing and logistics company).
The “Control Person” Theory Of Liability “Trend” That Never Occurred
This recent law review article titled “Laxity at the Gates: The SEC’s Neglect to Enforce Control Person Liability” does not mention the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, but it did get me thinking about control person liability in connection with SEC FCPA enforcement actions.
As highlighted in this post, in the aftermath of a 2009 SEC individual FCPA enforcement action based on “control person” liability some predicted the start of a new trend. However, this “trend” never occurred.
FCPA Flash – A Conversation With Neil Smith (Former Senior Counsel In The SEC’s Enforcement Division) About SEC FCPA Enforcement
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 Neil Smith. On July 14th, Smith left the SEC where he served as senior counsel in the Enforcement Division for more than six years and where he was also a member of the SEC’s FCPA Unit. In the podcast, Smith (currently a partner in the Boston office of K&L Gates) discusses SEC remedies in FCPA enforcement actions, the SEC’s theory of enforcement around the FCPA’s internal controls provisions, the impact of the Supreme Court’s recent Kokesh decision on SEC FCPA enforcement, and changes to the FCPA and FCPA enforcement that he would like to see.