Potpourri
What Does “Gap” Mean?
A commentator states: “The Justice Department’s six-month pause on FCPA enforcement has left a gap in the global anti-corruption fight.”
Guess it depends what “gap” means.
Since the February 10th Executive Order, the DOJ has indicated its intent to proceed to trial in three FCPA cases (see here and here) and a defendant in another case has pleaded guilty (see here).
U.K. Announces Enforcement Action Involving Insurance Sector In Ecuador
As detailed below, in the past approximate five years, there have been several FCPA enforcement actions against companies and individuals involved in the insurance sector in Ecuador.
Tysers Insurance Brokers Limited and H.W. Wood Limited (2023)
As highlighted in this prior post, the DOJ alleged that “Tysers and H.W. Wood were engaged in a conspiracy the purpose of which was for the co-conspirators to enrich themselves by, among other things, corruptly offering bribes to, and for the benefit of Juan Ribas Domenech, Foreign Official 1, Foreign Official 2, and Foreign Official 3, each of whom was a foreign official in Ecuador, within the meaning of the FCPA … to influence the foreign officials and to secure improper advantages in order to obtain or retain reinsurance business from Seguros Sucre and Rocafuerte” (both alleged to be state-owned insurance companies).
U.K. Brings Enforcement Action Against Former Glencore Employees
In 2022, Glencore (a commodities company incorporated in the United Kingdom and headquartered in Switzerland) resolved a net $443 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action regarding conduct in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Brazil, Venezuela, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.” (See here for the prior post).
In summary fashion, the DOJ alleged:
“From at least in or about 2007 up to and including in or about 2018, Glencore, through certain of its employees and agents, while acting on behalf of Glencore, together with its co-conspirators, knowingly and willfully conspired and agreed with others to corruptly provide more than $100 million in payments and other things of value to various intermediaries with the intent that a significant portion of these payments would be used to pay bribes to and for the benefit of foreign officials to secure an improper advantage and to influence those foreign officials in order to obtain or retain business in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Brazil, Venezuela, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
Issues To Consider From The Tysers And H.W. Wood Enforcement Actions
This previous post discussed the related DOJ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions against United Kingdom reinsurance brokers Tysers Insurance Brokers Limited (acquired by AUB Group in 2022) and H.W. Wood Limited for “participation in a corrupt scheme to pay bribes to Ecuadorian government officials.”
This post highlights additional issues to consider.
Timeline
AUB previously disclosed in 2022.
U.K. Serious Fraud Office Drops Two Long-Standing Bribery Investigations
The general equivalent to the Department of Justice in the United Kingdom is the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
Compared to the DOJ, the SFO does a much better job of keeping the public informed of its investigations.
Recently, the SFO updated its case archive concerning two long-standing bribery investigations involving ENRC Ltd. and Rio Tinto.