Scrutiny Alerts
Honeywell
As highlighted in this prior post, in mid-2019 Honeywell disclosed that it was cooperating with the DOJ/SEC and Brazilian law enforcement investigations relating to its use of third parties in relation to Petrobras business as well as a matter involving a foreign subsidiary’s prior engagement of Unaoil in Algeria.
Honeywell recently disclosed: “We have begun discussions with the authorities with respect to a potential resolution of these matters. As the discussions are ongoing, there can be no assurance as to whether we will reach a resolution with such authorities or as to the potential timing, terms, or collateral consequences of any such resolution. As a result, we cannot predict the outcome of these matters, the potential impact on the Company, or a reasonable estimate of losses or range of losses at this time.”
Friday Roundup
Scrutiny alerts, wow that case is still going on, and for the reading stack.
It’s all here in the Friday roundup.
Scrutiny Alerts
ZTE
According to this report “ZTE, the Chinese telecom giant that pleaded guilty three years ago to violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and North Korea, is the subject of a new and separate bribery investigation by the Justice Department […] The new investigation … centers on possible bribes ZTE paid to foreign officials to gain advantages in its worldwide operations. […] [N]ews reports, documents and at least one lawsuit filed in recent years have accused ZTE of corruption in more than a dozen countries, including Algeria, Liberia, Kenya and Zimbabwe.” (See here for a 2018 post regarding ZTE).
Random Musings
This post contains random musings regarding the continued media scrutiny of potential Foreign Corrupt Practices Act repeat offenders General Electric, Siemens, and Philips (see here and here for prior posts).
In yet another story, this recent New York Times article goes in-depth into alleged corruption in the Chinese healthcare sector.
The article begins:
Friday Roundup
Seeking whistleblowers, scrutiny alert, and across the pond. It’s all here in the Friday roundup.
Seeking Whistleblowers
As highlighted in this previous post, a few months ago the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued this enforcement advisory concerning companies and individuals “that timely and voluntarily disclose to the Division violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) involving foreign corrupt practices, where the voluntary disclosure is followed by full cooperation and appropriate remediation.”
Certain sources, including the FCPA Blog, falsely claimed that the CFTC is now investigating and prosecuting FCPA violations; however the CFTC advisory clearly concerns violations of the CEA. (See here for a recent FCPA Flash podcast on the topic).
The FCPA Repeat Offender List May Substantially Grow
Previous posts here and here have highlighted the numerous companies which have resolved not just one, but two, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions.
The FCPA repeat offender list may substantially grow as Reuters reports that “the U.S. FBI is investigating corporate giants Johnson & Johnson, Siemens AG, General Electric Co and Philips for allegedly paying kickbacks as part of a scheme involving medical equipment sales in Brazil.”