For further details about the guidance recently published by the Ministry of Justice on the Bribery Act 2010, please read our Review (PDF/369KB). Among other things, the Review contains useful information on: corporate hospitality; facilitation payments; commercial organisations; and associated persons.
Monthly Archives: March 2011
Bribery Act 2010: Section 7 Guidance
Posted in UK Bribery ActThe wait is over. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has today published the long awaited guidance for commercial organisations on procedures that they can put into place to prevent bribery. The following documents were made available on the MOJ website this morning: Guidance (PDF) on the Bribery Act 2010 (Act); and Quick Start Guide (PDF) on the… Continue Reading
SEC Moves to Require Companies to Report Use of “Conflict Minerals”
Posted in Foreign Corrupt Practices ActSquire Sanders‘ David Spooner, James Barresi, and Frank Placenti write that in April, the Securities and Exchange Commission plans to issue new regulations requiring companies to disclose whether their production utilizes “conflict minerals” from the Congo or an adjoining country. The SEC’s new rules may prove to be a headache for companies that use small… Continue Reading
Ball Corporation Dropped the FCPA Ball and Settled with the SEC
Posted in Foreign Corrupt Practices ActBall, an Indiana corporation based in Colorado that manufactures metal packaging for household goods, food and beverages, and provides aerospace and technological services, resolved an enforcement action in which the SEC alleged it violated the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions. Conduct The SEC alleged Ball, through a subsidiary, Formametal, S.A., acquired in… Continue Reading
Bribery and Corruption – Is There a Future for Self Reporting and Plea Bargaining?
Posted in UK Bribery ActIn July 2009, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) issued a document entitled “Approach of the Serious Fraud Office Dealing with Overseas Corruption,” which encourages companies to approach the SFO to self report corruption in exchange for receiving a US-style plea bargain settlement, thus providing the company with certainty of outcome. However, in his white paper,… Continue Reading
Vigilance at its best?
Posted in IndiaEarlier this month, the BBC reported that an Indian government appointee had resigned due to allegations of corruption. The cynics among us would not necessarily have batted an eyelid, but what made me take particular notice on this occasion was the fact that the person in question, Shri P J Thomas, was the head of the… Continue Reading
Anticorruption Enforcement in Brazil Takes a Step Forward, But It Needs to Take More
Posted in Brazil, Commercial BriberyBribery has been considered a criminal offense in Brazil since 1940. Since then, several other corruption-related practices also have been criminalized. Over the years, countless individuals in the public and private sectors have faced criminal charges for bribery and corruption, many of which individuals were sentenced to imprisonment. One perceived shortcoming in Brazil’s anti-corruption laws,… Continue Reading
Bribery Act 2010: Changing Scope
Posted in UK Bribery ActWhilst we await the coming into force of The Bribery Act 2010 (“Act”) with baited breath, in the meantime, it is interesting to see the attempts to change the scope of the Act. There has also been no shortage of various interest groups calling for a delay in the Act’s implementation to allow them to… Continue Reading
IBM and the SEC Settle Up
Posted in China, Foreign Corrupt Practices ActIBM resolved an enforcement action brought by the SEC, which alleged the company violated the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions. SEC alleged IBM subsidiaries and an IBM join-venture made illicit payments and provided gifts, travel and entertainment to Chinese and South Korean government officials for improper purposes. IBM did not admit nor… Continue Reading
This is a Collect Call from The Department of Justice
Posted in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Industry Investigations, TelecommunicationsNot too long ago I was clicking through the greatly improved DOJ FCPA webpage when I stumbled onto an enforcement action that had flown under the anticorruption/compliance blogosphere’s radar. Yes, Manuel Salvoch had escaped the dreaded DOJ press release, but not the Fraud Section’s posting of documents for the world to see. It was only… Continue Reading
Bonny Island Keeps on Giving (to the US Treasury that is)
Posted in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Industry Investigations, Oil & GasOn Friday, March 11, Jeffrey Tesler, who had challenged extradition from the UK to the US, relented in his fight and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and one substantive violation of an FCPA antibribery provision. In 2009, the DOJ initially charged Tesler in an 11 count indictment consisting of… Continue Reading
From Russia with Love: Multiplication Table for Bribery Fines
Posted in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, RussiaMarina Ushakova, of Squire Sander’s Moscow office, and Ritchie Thomas, of Squire Sander’s Washington, D.C. office, have the following to say about recent anticorruption developments in Russia: Russia is on the threshold of a drastic change in the design of its system of penalties for bribery, both on the supply side and on the demand… Continue Reading
The Bar Speaks Out on the FCPA at the ABA White Collar Conference
Posted in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, UK Bribery ActIn a recent post we analyzed the comments of Charles Duross, Deputy Chief, Fraud Section, Criminal Division, DOJ, at the ABA White Collar Crime annual conference. Today, we will summarize the comments of Duross’ fellow panelists — Robert Tarun, Mark Mendelsohn and Raphael Monty — all three of whom are in private practice. Tarun stated:… Continue Reading
“2010 Was a Transformative Year”
Posted in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, UK Bribery ActWith these words Charles Duross, Deputy Chief, Fraud Section, Criminal Division, Department of Justice – the country’s lead criminal prosecutor of FCPA – so began his comments at the recent American Bar Association White Collar Crime annual conference in San Diego, California. Duross characterized 2010 as “transformative” for the following reasons: Fraud Section Changes. Duross… Continue Reading