The “Foreign” in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act refers to the location of the bribe recipient (as in “foreign,” non-U.S. officials).
However, the “Foreign” in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act might as well refer to the location of the bribe payor as well – in other words the location of the company resolving the FCPA enforcement.
This recent post highlighted that approximately 75% of DOJ corporate enforcement actions since 2021 have been against foreign companies.
What do the numbers show regarding SEC FCPA enforcement?
Since 2021, the SEC has resolved 21 corporate Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions.
As highlighted below, of the 21 corporate FCPA enforcement actions since 2021, 14 of the 21 enforcement actions (67%) have involved foreign companies.
Set forth below are the 21 SEC corporate FCPA enforcement actions since 2021 along with a general description of the company involved.
- SAP – a global software company headquartered in Walldorf, Germany.
- Rio Tinto – a UK company incorporated in England and Wales.
- Flutter International – a company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
- Frank’s International – a company incorporated in the Netherlands.
- Philips – a Dutch multinational corporation founded in Eindhoven, Netherlands and headquartered in Amsterdam.
- Gartner – a Delaware corporation with headquarters in Connecticut.
- Clear Channel – a Delaware corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.
- 3M – a company headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota.
- Albermarle – a corporation organized under the laws of Virginia and headquartered in North Carolina.
- Corficolombiana – a Colombian financial services company that was majority owned and controlled by Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. – a Colombian holding company
- KT Corp. – a company with principal executive offices in Seoul, South Korea.
- Tenaris – a company headquartered in Luxembourg.
- Stericycle – a Delaware corporation headquartered in Illinois.
- Gol Linhas Aereas – an airline company headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil.
- Oracle – a company headquartered in Austin, Texas.
- ABB – a Swiss-based global technology company.
- Honeywell – a Delaware corporation headquartered in North Carolina.
- Deutsche Bank – a global investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany.
- Amec Foster Wheeler – a company incorporated in the United Kingdom.
- WPP – a Jersey multinational marketing communications group.
- Credit Suisse – a multinational investment bank and financial services company based in Switzerland.
Query whether there is another securities law in which SEC enforcement actions over the last several years have involved approximately 70% foreign companies (and only approximately 30% U.S. companies)?
