The article “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Ripples” documents numerous “ripple effects” of FCPA scrutiny and enforcement beyond a DOJ/SEC enforcement action including so-called “offensive use” of the FCPA by a competitor or adversary to achieve a business objective or to further advance a litigating position.
An interesting recent example concerns the Bull Mountains Mine (located in central Montana) and federal government approval to expand the mine.
A recent lawsuit brought by Montana Environmental Information Center, Center for Biological Diversity, and WildEarth Guardians urges the Court to hold unlawful approval of the Bull Mountains Mine expansion.
Signal Peak Energy, LLC is the mine operator and Signal Peak is owned, in part, by Gunvor.
Yeah, that Gunvor – the company that resolved a net $494 million FCPA enforcement action in 2024 concerning conduct in Ecuador.
As stated in the complaint:
“Signal Peak’s owners, FirstEnergy Corp. and Gunvor Group, have also
recently paid criminal fines of hundreds of millions of dollars for unrelated charges of bribery to obtain access to fossil fuel markets and subsidies.”
