In November 2024, Digicel disclosed Foreign Corrupt Practices Act scrutiny (see here for the prior post).
Specifically, the company stated:
“We voluntarily disclosed to the US Department of Justice information related to possible violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. We are cooperating fully with the DOJ and will continue to do so.”
As highlighted in this recent article:
“Last week, Digicel was informed by the Fraud Section of the US Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, responsible for enforcement of the FCPA, that the government has closed its investigation into possible violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other laws in light of Executive Order 14209 and information the Department learned during the course of its investigation.”
“The Fraud Section had initiated its investigation in November 2024 after Digicel voluntarily self-reported results of its own internal reviews. Throughout the Fraud Section’s investigation, Digicel cooperated extensively and informed the Fraud Section that it had taken significant steps to assess and enhance its compliance program to ensure it is appropriately designed, resourced, tested and empowered to promote a culture of compliance,” they said.
“Digicel will continue with its plans to implement and maintain best-in-class compliance policies and procedures, ensure that no inappropriate conduct is occurring and conduct related training for its employees. Digicel remains committed to transparency and accountability, as well as operating in an ethical and compliant manner.”
“We look forward to putting this matter behind us and focusing on our mission to help bridge the digital divide through connecting and empowering our people, customers, and communities around the world.”
Some are seemingly linking closure of the investigation exclusively to the February 10th Executive Order “pausing” FCPA enforcement.
Headlines state: “US Closes Digicel Corruption Probe After Donald Trump Executive Order,” “Digicel Bribery Probe Closed by US Following Trump Executive Order.”
These headlines are examples of the post hoc fallacy – the assumption that because one event preceded another event, they must be causally related without considering other potential causes.
However, not everything that has happened in the FCPA space since the February 10th Executive Order – and will continue to happen in the FCPA space – is necessarily linked exclusively to the Executive Order.
For instance, Digicel’s recent disclosure states that the government has closed its investigation into possible violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other laws in light of Executive Order 14209 and information the Department learned during the course of its investigation.”
For years, companies have disclosed “possible” FCPA violations to the DOJ/SEC and the end result has been no enforcement action of any kind.
It happens so often, I’ve covered the topic for approximately 15 years and even suggested an FCPA reform proposal regarding the dynamic. (See here for the most recent post).
In other news, Rory McIlroy won the Masters after Trump Executive Order.
