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FCPA Scorecard Blog

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act & Anti-Corruption

DOJ declines to prosecute Dun & Bradstreet, SEC issues $9 million fine for FCPA violations in China

DOJ FCPA FCPA Pilot Program SEC Dun & Bradstreet

On April 23, Dun & Bradstreet, a commercial data and analytics firm, secured a declination letter from the DOJ regarding FCPA violations stating that, “consistent with the FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy,” the DOJ would be declining to bring criminal charges against the company. Dun & Bradstreet simultaneously agreed to settle with the SEC regarding books and records and internal controls violations regarding the same conduct, and pay a total of $9 million, including a $2 million civil penalty and $6 million of disgorgement. Dun & Bradstreet had self-disclosed payments made by two Chinese subsidiaries through third party agents. One of the subsidiaries, part of a joint venture with a Chinese company, made payments to Chinese government officials to acquire non-public financial statement information on Chinese entities. The other subsidiary made improper payments both to obtain specific business and to acquire non-public personal data. The SEC noted that there were pre-acquisition concerns regarding the subsidiaries, but Dun & Bradstreet failed to take appropriate action to stop the payments or the false entries, which continued for several years after the acquisition.

This is the first instance we are aware of a company receiving a full declination from the DOJ under the new policy. The policy, which grew out of the FCPA Pilot Program, states that when a company voluntarily self-discloses, fully cooperates, and timely and appropriately remediates, there will be a presumption that the DOJ will issue a declination. The Dun & Bradstreet declination letter notes the company’s self-identification and disclosure, thorough investigation, and full cooperation, including identifying all individuals involved in the misconduct. The DOJ also cited the company’s “full remediation,” in part by terminating 11 employees, including senior employees, and reducing compensation and other forms of discipline.