FCPA and UK Bribery Act Enforcement Actions and Developments Between January and June 2017
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Business Guide to Anti-Corruption Laws 2017 Mid-Year Update CHICAGO | LONDON | LOS ANGELES | NEW YORK | WASHINGTON, DC | JENNER.COM INTRODUCTION TO THE MID-YEAR UPDATE To supplement our annual Anti-Corruption Business Guide, this mid-year update reports on FCPA and UK Bribery Act enforcement actions and developments between January and June 2017. This mid-year update discusses the most significant anti- a total of £671 million, including criminal penalties paid to corruption enforcement developments from the first six authorities in the United States and Brazil. months of 2017, with a focus on developments in the The Rolls-Royce global resolution is a concrete example of United States and the United Kingdom. the international cooperation on anti-corruption enforcement In the United States, officials new to the Department of that the DOJ and SFO have stressed. In addition to Justice (DOJ) have made clear that enforcement of the information sharing and cooperating on global resolutions of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) will continue to be corruption matters, the two agencies further cemented their a priority under the new administration. The DOJ’s FCPA relationship by embedding a DOJ liaison with the SFO (who pilot program, which sets forth the DOJ’s criteria for will also spend time at the United Kingdom’s Financial reflecting mitigation credit in an FCPA investigation, has Conduct Authority). remained in force. Pursuant to that pilot program, the DOJ There was also a significant legal development that suggests announced declinations of prosecution in two matters that companies may not be able to use the legal advice where it said the company’s disclosure, cooperation, and privilege to shield attorney investigative materials from remediation met its standards. One of those matters discovery in the United Kingdom. In two recent matters related involved unusually severe conduct for a declination, to white-collar investigations, English courts held that third including involvement of the parent company’s senior parties, including in one case the SFO, could obtain management in the corrupt activities. summaries of interviews and other facts gathered during an The US Supreme Court also decided a case that could internal investigation, including materials gathered by US impact the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) counsel. These investigative materials likely would be frequent practice of seeking disgorgement of allegedly ill- immune from compelled production under US law. gotten gains in FCPA matters. In Kokesh v. SEC, a case In addition to these developments and others related to FCPA briefed and argued before the Supreme Court by Jenner and UK Bribery Act enforcement, the update discusses key & Block Partner Adam G. Unikowsky, the Supreme Court developments in FCPA-related private litigation and other held that disgorgement is subject to a five-year statute of anti-corruption trends and developments from around the limitations, upending the SEC’s position that no limitation world. period applied to disgorgement actions. The Court’s decision also invites broader challenges to the SEC’s The authors are Nicholas R. Barnaby, David Bitkower, Emily authority to impose disgorgement at all. A. Bruemmer, Larry P. Ellsworth, D. Matthew Feldhaus, Kelly Hagedorn, Michael K. Lowman, Jessica A. Martinez, Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the Serious Fraud Marguerite L. Moeller, Coral A. Negron, William C. Pericak, Office (SFO) continued aggressive enforcement of the UK Kristin L. Rakowski, Grace C. Signorelli-Cassady, Keisha N. Bribery Act (UKBA). Its settlement with Rolls-Royce Stanford, Robert R. Stauffer, and Jessica G. Veitch. included the largest fine imposed under the UKBA to date, © 2017 Jenner & Block LLP. 353 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60654-3456. Jenner & Block is an Illinois Limited Liability Partnership including professional corporations. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice but to provide information on legal matters and Firm news of interest to our clients and colleagues. Readers should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to matters mentioned in this publication. The attorney responsible for this publication is Nicholas R. Barnaby. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome MAP OF OUR WORLDWIDE ANTI-CORRUPTION REPRESENTATIONS OUR ANTI-CORRUPTION EXPERIENCE Jenner & Block has a leading FCPA and anti-corruption practice representing global companies in all phases of compliance with the FCPA, the UK Bribery Act, and other anti-corruption laws, from internal investigations and negotiations with the US and other governments to development of internal controls, training, and compliance counseling. We offer clients a wealth of experience, with two former US attorneys, the former associate attorney general (the third-ranking official in the US Department of Justice), the former principal deputy assistant attorney general of the Criminal Division, former criminal division and assistant US attorneys from jurisdictions throughout the country, the former associate director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, and other former SEC enforcement attorneys. As a group, our lawyers have represented many dozens of companies in FCPA and anti-corruption matters of all types. The hallmark of a strong anti-corruption practice is helping clients stay out of trouble in the first place. Our lawyers have developed anti-corruption compliance programs for major multi-national companies across numerous sectors of the economy, including, among others, defense, financial institutions, oil and gas, media, government contractors of all kinds, and retail establishments. We have provided training to tens of thousands of corporate personnel as well as smaller businesses with fewer than 500 employees. Our FCPA team also brings to the table a nuanced understanding of the intersections of the FCPA with federal securities laws, Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank, export control laws, government contracting obligations, and other anti-corruption laws, including the UK Bribery Act. When issues arise, our clients benefit from Jenner & Block’s world-class reputation and skill in conducting internal investigations. Our range and depth of experience enables us to conduct internal investigations with care and rigor, ensuring that our clients have obtained the material facts and that the investigation will withstand the strictest of scrutiny by government enforcement agencies. FCPA AND UK BRIBERY ACT BASICS The FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions prohibit corrupt payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Their jurisdiction is broad, extending to all US companies and persons, public companies and foreign companies that are registered with the SEC, and foreign companies and persons that commit an act in furtherance of an improper payment or offer while in the United States. Fines and penalties under the FCPA can be significant, as demonstrated by the $772 million fine imposed on Alstom S.A. and last year’s $2.6 billion settlement between Odebrecht S.A. and US, Swiss, and Brazilian authorities. The books and records and internal controls provisions of the FCPA work in tandem with the anti-bribery provisions by requiring accurate accounting and reporting of expenditures, as well as adequate internal controls. The books and records and internal controls provisions also generally impose obligations to maintain accurate books and records, whether or not any improper payments have been made. These provisions apply only to companies registered with the SEC. The UKBA contains a similar substantive anti-bribery provision that prohibits a corrupt payment to a foreign public official for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. The UKBA also prohibits the “failure to prevent bribery” with a provision that holds a company vicariously liable for Bribery Act violations committed on its behalf by a person associated with the company. The UKBA broadly applies to any company that “carries out a business or part of a business” within the United Kingdom. Our annual Business Guide to the Anticorruption Laws provides an in-depth look at the statutory provisions and frequently asked questions associated with FCPA and UKBA enforcement. The 2017 edition may be accessed here and hard copies are available upon request. ANTI-CORRUPTION HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FIRST HALF OF 2017 NEW ADMINISTRATION SIGNALS A officials have echoed Attorney General Sessions, CONTINUATION IN FCPA ENFORCEMENT committing to aggressive FCPA enforcement and POLICIES, INCLUDING FCPA PILOT PROGRAM continuing certain enforcement policies from the previous administration. Among other practices, DOJ officials have In the first half of 2017, officials from the new presidential noted that they will continue to follow the Memorandum on administration have publicly signaled that FCPA Individual Accountability (known as the “Yates Memo”), enforcement remains a top law enforcement priority. which was made part of the United States Attorney’s Following the election results, some commentators raised Manual under the prior administration, and which requires questions as to whether the new administration would corporations to provide specific information about individual continue FCPA and other white-collar enforcement wrongdoers in order to receive credit for cooperating with a strategies pursued by the Obama and Bush administrations. DOJ investigation. DOJ officials have also stressed Prior to taking office, both President