Issues To Consider From The BIT Mining (500.com) Enforcement Action
This prior post highlighted the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action against BIT Mining Ltd. (formerly known as 500.com) in connection with a failed Japan bribery scheme concerning efforts to obtain a license to operate a casino.
This post highlights additional issues to consider.
Japan
The enforcement action is believed to be the first in FCPA history concerning conduct in Japan.
Take away point. While certain countries have a higher bribery and corruption risk than others, bribery and corruption issues can arise in any country.
FCPA enforcement actions have involved conduct in approximately 90 countries including perceived low risk countries such Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, France and Germany.
RTX Resolves Net $361 Million FCPA Enforcement Action
Raytheon (which changed its name to RTX in 2003) has been under Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (and related) scrutiny for several years.
As highlighted in this prior post, in late July 2024 the company disclosed that it would be resolving (among other things) an FCPA matter and that settlement would include a DOJ deferred prosecution agreement (with an independent compliance monitor requirement) and an SEC order.
Today, the DOJ and SEC announced resolution of the matter. Resolution involved various prongs including the False Claims Act, the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
SEC Extracts $15 Million From Rio Tinto In First Corporate Enforcement Action Of 2023
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.
Deutsche Bank Joins The Repeat Offender Club By Resolving Second FCPA Enforcement In Just 16 Months
In August 2019, Deutsche Bank paid $16.2 million “to settle changes that it violated the FCPA by hiring relatives of foreign government officials [in both the Asia Pacific Region and Russia] in order to improperly influence them in connection with investment banking business).” (See here and here for prior posts).
Late Friday, Deutsche Bank (a German investment bank and financial services company with shares traded on the NYSE between 2009 and 2016) joined the ever expanding list of FCPA repeat offenders as the DOJ and SEC announced (here and here) an approximate $122.6 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action focused on the company’s relationship with third parties in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and China.
The approximate 16 month gap between Deutsche Bank’s FCPA enforcement actions is the shortest among the large group of FCPA repeat offenders.
The DOJ’s First FCPA DPA Involved Monsanto
[This post is part of a periodic series regarding “old” FCPA enforcement actions]
In early January 2005, the DOJ used a deferred prosecution agreement for the first time to resolve a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action. The “guinea pig” was Monsanto.
This post highlights the DOJ and parallel SEC enforcement action against the company (aggregate settlement amount of $1.5 million) based on conduct in Indonesia.