Top Menu

Issues To Consider From The Rio Tinto And Flutter International Enforcement Actions

Issues

Previous posts here and here discussed the $15 million FCPA enforcement action against Rio Tinto and the $4 million FCPA enforcement action against Flutter International.

This post highlights additional issues to consider.

Interesting

While one would like to think that FCPA enforcement actions “just happen” when they are ready to happen, certain FCPA enforcement actions are seemingly timed to coincide with a company’s reporting cycle, government enforcement “marketing,” or other issues.

Separate FCPA enforcement actions announced on the same day are rare.

Continue Reading

SEC Brings $4 Million Enforcement Action Against An Irish Company (The Successor In Interest To A Canadian Company) For Paying Consultants In Russia In An Effort To Legalize Poker In Russia

RussiaPoker

This recent post about the Rio Tinto FCPA enforcement action posed the lingering question of whether FCPA enforcement is a convenient cash cow for the U.S. government. After all, when several former FCPA enforcement officials suggest as much, what are the rest of us supposed to think?

After all, in the Rio Tinto matter the U.S. extracted $15 million from a company (with headquarters in Australia and the United Kingdom) after the SEC found that the company hired a French investment banker and close friend of a former senior Guinean government official as a consultant to help the company retain mining rights in Guinea. Even though both Australia and the United Kingdom have laws and law enforcement resources to adequately address the conduct at issue, the SEC nevertheless got involved because the company had American Depository Shares that traded on a U.S. exchange.

Earlier this week (and on the same day as the Rio Tinto matter was announced), the SEC also announced a $4 million FCPA enforcement action against Flutter International (a company headquartered in Ireland) – the successor in interest to The Stars Group (a company that was headquartered in Canada) – based on the finding that the “Company paid approximately $8.9 million to consultants in Russia in support of the Company’s operations and its efforts to have poker legalized in that country.” Even though both Ireland and Canada have laws and law enforcement resources to adequately address the conduct at issue, the SEC nevertheless got involved because The Stars Group at one time had shares traded on a U.S. exchange.

Continue Reading

SEC Extracts $15 Million From Rio Tinto In First Corporate Enforcement Action Of 2023

RioTinto

In the minds of some (including former FCPA enforcement officials – see here), Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement is a convenient cash cow for the U.S. government.

Those who believe this will find new support in the first corporate FCPA enforcement action of 2023.

The basic findings are as follows.

Approximately 12 years ago, Rio Tinto (a metal and mining company with headquarters in Australia and the United Kingdom) hired a French investment banker and close friend of a former senior Guinean government official as a consultant to help the company retain mining rights in Guinea.

Even though both Australia and the United Kingdom have laws and law enforcement resources to adequately address the conduct at issue, the U.S. nevertheless extracted $15 million from Rio Tinto because the company had American Depository Shares that traded on a U.S. exchange.

Continue Reading

That Stinks: Safran S.A. Quietly Resolves $17.2 Million Enforcement Action Involving “Train Lavatory Contracts”

Trainlavatory

Some Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions are accompanied by DOJ press releases and much fanfare and some are not.

In the later category, earlier this week this letter was quietly posted to the DOJ’s FCPA website indicating that Safran S.A. (a French company) resolved a $17.2 “declination with disgorgement” enforcement action.

According to the DOJ letter, bribery was “committed by employees and agents of the Company’s U.S. subsidiary Monogram Systems (Monogram) and its German subsidiary EVAC GmbH (EVAC).”

Continue Reading

Honeywell Resolves Net $82 Million FCPA Enforcement Action Concerning Conduct In Brazil And Algeria

Honeywell

Turns out, things were not so well at 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 (Brazil) business as well as a matter involving a foreign subsidiary’s prior engagement of Unaoil in Algeria.

Yesterday, the DOJ and SEC announced (see here and here) a parallel Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action against Honeywell UOP (a U.S. based subsidiary of Honeywell International) and Honeywell International.

The net $82 million enforcement action involved a DOJ component (net $39.6 million) and an SEC component (net $42.4 million).

Continue Reading

Powered by WordPress. Designed by WooThemes