Securities Litigation, Investigations and Enforcement

Anti-Bribery

FCPA Violators Beware—SEC to Double Down on Enforcement

William FoleyPosted on November 16, 2017

The SEC has signaled plans to double down on its FCPA enforcement efforts and speed up FCPA investigations. On November 9, 2017, Steven Peikin, Co-Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, delivered a speech at New York University School of Law to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the FCPA and the 20th anniversary of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development Anti-Bribery Convention. In his speech, Peikin stressed the importance of the FCPA to the Commission’s enforcement mission and noted that the Commission will continue its commitment to FCPA enforcement. Pointing out that the Commission has brought 106 FCPA-related actions against individuals and corporations since forming its designated FCPA Unit in 2010, Peikin highlighted the Commission’s success in fostering a more predictable and uniform approach to FCPA enforcement and domestic and international partnerships in fighting corruption.

Peikin stressed the importance of collaborating with international colleagues in the fight to “eradicate[e] corruption and bribery” and pointed to recent global settlements, including the settlement with Telia (reported here), as examples of successful cross-border coordination and cooperation. Citing deterrence and investigation efficiencies as key benefits of global coordination, Peikin noted that he expects “the trend of the Enforcement Division working closely with foreign law enforcement and regulators in anti-bribery actions to continue its upward trajectory in the coming years.” READ MORE →

Goodyear Rolls Out $16 M Settlement With SEC, Putting Brakes on FCPA Charges

Jennifer LeePosted on March 4, 2015

On February 24, 2015, the SEC announced that it had reached an agreement with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (“Goodyear”) for Goodyear to disgorge more than $16 million to settle FCPA charges stemming from its Kenyan and Angolan subsidiaries. This settlement is notable because it focuses on bribery involving private companies as opposed to official corruption, which is typically prosecuted by the SEC. While the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions apply only to improper payments to foreign officials, the SEC charged Goodyear with violations of the FCPA’s books and records provisions, which have no such requirement and instead require a company to keep records that “accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the issuer” and to “devise and maintain a system of internal accounting controls” sufficient to ensure the integrity of the company’s financial records. This use of the books and records provisions is important because it signals the SEC’s intent and ability to use the FCPA to bring broad, far-reaching enforcement cases that have the potential to ensnare any public company.