An FCPA Statistical Feast
If the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is an area of your practice or interest, this post may make you feel like a kid in a candy store.
FCPA Professor has been the place to visit this month for in-depth 2024 FCPA enforcement statistics as well as comparisons to historical statistics. If you missed the daily posts, no worries. This post consolidates in one place the statistics recently published on FCPA Professor.
This post compares 2024 corporate FCPA enforcement to prior years.
A Focus On DOJ Individual Actions
This recent post focused on SEC individual FCPA actions in 2024 and historically.
Today’s post highlights various facts and figures regarding the DOJ’s prosecution of individuals for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act offenses in 2024 and historically.
The key word above is FCPA offenses.
Some in the FCPA space include enforcement actions containing non-FCPA charges (often money laundering charges against alleged “foreign officials” or with increasing frequency money laundering charges against alleged bribe payors – see here) related to an FCPA enforcement action as an individual FCPA enforcement action. While it is fine to track such enforcement actions, calling them FCPA enforcement actions is factually false. (In fact, as highlighted in this prior post, approximately 55% of enforcement actions in recent years on the DOJ’s FCPA website are not actual FCPA enforcement actions).
DOJ FCPA Enforcement – 2024 Year In Review
This recent post summarized SEC Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement against issuers in 2024.
Today’s post focuses on the other FCPA enforcement agency – the Department of Justice – and highlights various facts and figures relevant to DOJ FCPA enforcement in 2024 against business organizations. (See here for a similar post for 2023; here for for 2022; here for 2021; here for 2020; here for 2019; here for 2018; here for 2017, here for 2016, here for 2015, here for 2014, here for 2013, here for 2012, here for 2011, and here for 2010).
Settlement Numbers and Amounts
In 2024, the DOJ brought 9 corporate enforcement actions.
FCPA Enforcement Actions Against Foreign Companies From OECD Convention Peer Countries
As highlighted in this post, like prior years (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here) much of the largeness of 2024 FCPA enforcement resulted from corporate enforcement actions against foreign companies.
Specifically, of the 11 corporate Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions in 2024, 5 (45%) were against foreign companies (based in many instances on mere listing of securities on U.S. markets or in a few instances on sparse allegations of a U.S. nexus in furtherance of a bribery scheme). Of the net approximate $1.28 billion in FCPA settlement amounts from 2024 corporate enforcement actions, approximately $772 million (approximately 60%) was from enforcement actions against foreign companies.
Such numbers are not unique to 2024.
A Focus On SEC Individual Actions
This previous post highlighted various facts and figures from 2024 SEC FCPA enforcement actions against issuers.
This post focuses on SEC FCPA individual actions – both in 2024 and historically.
Like the DOJ, the SEC frequently speaks in lofty rhetoric concerning its focus on holding individuals accountable under the FCPA or other laws.
Set forth below are representative quotes from SEC officials over the years.