Some people and groups seemingly want more Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement regardless of enforcement theory, resolution vehicle used, or other relevant data points.
For instance, the SEC (compared to the DOJ) has rather limited jurisdiction to enforce the FCPA.
The SEC only has jurisdiction over “issuers” and associated persons (FCPA speak for publicly traded companies or those with reporting obligations to the SEC).
The number of “issuers” has significantly declined in recent years.
In this recent speech, SEC Chair Paul Atkins stated that one of his top priorities as SEC Chair “is to make being a public company an attractive proposition for more firms.”
Atkins stated:
“Let’s face it: in many quarters and for many reasons, taking a company public is no longer so “cool” as it once was. There are approximately 4,700 exchange-listed companies today, compared to a high point of approximately 7,800 in 2007. My goal is to reverse this trend—to “Make IPOs Great Again” —and it involves three pillars. First, we must simplify and scale the SEC’s disclosure requirements to reduce the costs of preparing SEC filings and, at the same time, make them more comprehensible. Second, we must de-politicize shareholder meetings and return their focus to voting on director elections and significant corporate matters. Finally, we must reform the litigation landscape for securities lawsuits to eliminate frivolous complaints, while maintaining an avenue for shareholders to continue to bring meritorious claims.
[…]
… [T]he declining number of public companies […] is not inevitable or irreversible. It is a signal that the costs of being a public company, coupled with the politicization of shareholder meetings, and ever-present specter of costly, frivolous litigation, have negatively impacted the vibrancy of our capital markets. Taken together, these forces have eroded American competitiveness; locked retail investors out of many of the most dynamic companies; and pushed entrepreneurs to seek capital elsewhere, either in the private markets or competing jurisdictions.”
