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DOJ again clarifies FCPA enforcement policy
On November 21, the DOJ updated its FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy to clarify ways in which companies can voluntarily disclose information in an effort to receive leniency from the Department in foreign bribery situations. First, a company does not need to have a complete picture of a possible violation when it first shares information with the DOJ; rather, the company should “make clear that it is making its disclosure based upon a preliminary investigation.” Next, the agency expects a company to disclose “where the company is aware of relevant evidence not in the company’s possession,” simplifying the requirement which previously called for disclosure of “opportunities for the department to obtain relevant evidence not in the company’s possession.” Finally, in the course of a merger or acquisition “an acquiring company that discloses misconduct may be eligible for a declination, even if aggravating circumstances existed as to the acquired entity.”
As previously covered by InfoBytes, the policy was last amended in March (March 2019 version available here) to, among other things, clarify the Department’s position on the use of ephemeral messaging apps by companies seeking full cooperation credit under the policy.
Former insurance executives charged with laundering bribes to Barbados Minister of Industry
On January 28, DOJ announced charges against the former chief executive and a former senior vice president of a Barbados-based insurance company. The indictment alleges that the the company's executives participated in a scheme to launder approximately $36,000 in bribes to the then-Minister of Industry of Barbados in exchange for his assistance in securing government contracts for the company. According to the indictment, the bribes were laundered through a United States bank account in the name of a dental company located in New York. The former Minister of Industry was arrested in August 2018 and the indictment against him referenced, but did not name, his alleged co-conspirators. The superseding indictment against the three co-defendants and another still unnamed former insurance executive was unsealed on January 18, 2019. Prior Scorecard coverage of the arrest and indictment of the former Minister of Industry can be found here.
The company voluntarily self-disclosed the case to DOJ and received a declination letter from DOJ for its cooperation pursuant to the FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy. The declination letter required the company to disgorge $93,940.19 in profits received through the conduct at issue. The declination was based, in part, on the company’s termination of all executives and employees involved in the alleged misconduct and in helping DOJ identify the culpable individuals. Prior Scorecard coverage of the declination letter can be found here.
DOJ provides further guidance on FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy in speech
On September 27, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Matthew Miner gave a speech that provided clarification of DOJ enforcement policies, continuing to emphasize voluntary disclosure and underscoring the notion that companies should view DOJ “as partners, not adversaries.” In his speech, Miner announced that DOJ’s FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy is not limited to just FCPA violations, and that DOJ “will also look to these principles in the context of mergers and acquisitions that uncover other types of potential wrongdoing,” encouraging companies that discover such wrongdoing to voluntarily disclose it. Miner also pointed to recent published declinations, and noted that declinations under DOJ’s Policy can still be appropriate even when “aggravating circumstances” are present. Miner also referenced the increase in “global enforcement and cooperation with foreign authorities” and emphasized DOJ’s “Anti-Piling On Policy.”