Judge Dismisses Fraud Charges Against Adanis – FCPA Charges Against Other Defendants Remain
In 2024, the DOJ criminally charged various individuals in connection with an alleged Indian bribery scheme. (See here for the prior post).
Gautam Adani (a citizen of India and founder of the Adani Group which includes numerous portfolio companies including Adani Green Energy – and Indian energy company) was charged with securities fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud conspiracy.
Sagar Adani (a citizen of India and Gautam Adani’s nephew and Executive Director of Adani Green’s Board of Directors) was charged with securities fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud conspiracy.
2004 Was An Important Year In Terms Of “Modern FCPA Enforcement”
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is approaching the big 5-0 as the law was enacted in 1977.
2004 – hard to believe – was 22 years ago and that year saw three developments relevant to the “modern era” of FCPA enforcement.
U.S. v. Kay
Prior to the 5th Circuit’s February 2004 decision in U.S. v. Kay (359 F.3d 738), the government was 0-3 when put to its burden of proof in FCPA enforcement actions outside the context of foreign government procurement. (See here for a summary of those three actions).
Hey Look … The Scoular DPA
On July 17th, the DOJ announced a $10.2 million FCPA enforcement action against The Scoular Company based on alleged bribery scheme in Mexico. (See here for the prior post).
As stated in the DOJ release:
“Between 2013 and 2019, Scoular relied on multiple customs brokers to ensure that its shipments of corn and other products successfully crossed from the United States into Mexico. Under Mexican law, those shipments were subject to inspection for dirt, soil, and other impurities. To ensure that Scoular’s shipments successfully transited the border despite inspections that found such dirt, soil, and other impurities, Scoular authorized multiple third-party customs brokers to bribe Mexican officials at the border. At the direction of Scoular employees, and for Scoular’s benefit, those brokers paid bribes of approximately $2,000 per Scoular train and invoiced the bribes back to Scoular for reimbursement of reinspection fees, which Scoular paid. Scoular employees communicated about shipments and bribes via WhatsApp and other means. In total, Scoular authorized bribes of more than $400,000 and avoided fees and costs of more than $6.5 million.”
As discussed in previous posts here and here, The Scoular enforcement action was a garden variety FCPA enforcement action.
Dear “Docketing Clerk” For The U.S. District Court – W.D. of Texas (El Paso)
On July 17th, the DOJ announced an FCPA enforcement action against The Scoular Company based on alleged bribery scheme in Mexico. (See here for the prior post).
The criminal information charging the company with conspiracy to violate the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions has been in the public domain since the announcement (although some uniformed commentators continue to suggest that it is not); however the deferred prosecution agreement is not publicly available on the court docket.
According to a knowledgeable source, the DPA “should be” available, but it still isn’t perhaps due to an oversight, technology issue, link issue with the electronic docket.
For instance, the docket currently shows:
FCPA Enforcement And The “C” Word – Part II
FCPA Inc. has always been an active group of writers who often use any little nugget of information to market FCPA practices.
So it is with the recent Scoular Company FCPA enforcement action.
Even though it was a “garden variety” enforcement action (a company doing business in a foreign country had a point of contact with a “foreign official” in connection with some regulatory aspect of its business and a bribe was allegedly paid), some are asserting that the enforcement action is evidence of the DOJ’s focus on cartel activity.
Here are the facts.