On December 6, 2021, the Biden Administration released the United States Strategy on Countering Corruption (“Strategy”), the first of its kind. This Strategy reaffirms the Biden Administration’s focus on the fight against...more
Just one year after President Biden’s election, senior administration officials have signaled in public remarks that the federal government will amplify enforcement pressure on corporations and their employees through...more
11/10/2021
/ Advisory Board ,
Biden Administration ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yates Memorandum
On June 3, 2021, President Biden issued a National Security Memorandum establishing the fight against corruption both at home and abroad as a core United States national security interest and directing the development of a...more
6/9/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Government Agencies ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Patriot Act ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Transparency
As was true in many areas of the law, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement in 2020 - and anti-corruption enforcement more generally - was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but perhaps not as much as was initially...more
2/1/2021
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Investigations ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On December 16, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to approve a Final Rule requiring companies to annually disclose information about payments they made to the U.S. government or any foreign government...more
Latin America has been especially hard hit in recent months by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting travel restrictions, physical safety precautions and public health concerns have created uncertainty for many...more
On July 3, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released the second edition of the Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (2020 Guide), the first update to...more
Recent Renewable Energy Developments in Latin America -
The renewable energy market in Latin America is booming, and the region’s natural resources make it one of the most attractive areas in the world for investment....more
7/7/2020
/ Brazil ,
Chile ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Green Energy ,
Hydropower ,
Latin America ,
Paris Agreement ,
Renewable Energy ,
Wind Power
On June 1, 2020, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, Brian A. Benczkowski, announced changes to the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (“2020 Guidance”), the...more
Two recent rulings in separate foreign bribery cases highlight the continued impact of individual prosecutions on the interpretation of various provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In United States v....more
3/4/2020
/ Agency Relationship ,
Bribery ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Email ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Indictments ,
Mail Fraud ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subsidiaries ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
On January 31, 2020, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) agreed to resolve allegations that Airbus SE (“Airbus”), a France-based aerospace company, used third-party business partners to bribe government officials and airline...more
2/5/2020
/ Airbus ,
Bribery ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Criminal Fines ,
Corporate Fines ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Forfeiture ,
France ,
Indictments ,
ITAR ,
Remediation ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Settlement ,
UK ,
US Department of State ,
Voluntary Disclosure
Enforcement activity reached new heights in 2019. The year saw the two largest corporate resolutions in the history of the FCPA, corporate penalties paid to US enforcement agencies topped last year’s record levels, and...more
1/30/2020
/ Adoption ,
Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Arbitration ,
CFTC ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Civil Forfeiture ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Declination ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ericsson ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Pending Litigation ,
Personal Liability ,
Popular ,
Resource Extraction ,
Restitution ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
On December 6, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) agreed to resolve allegations that multinational telecommunications company Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Ericsson or...more
12/31/2019
/ Accounting Controls ,
Bribery ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ericsson ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Jurisdiction ,
Meals-Gifts-and Entertainment Rules ,
Popular ,
Remediation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On August 29, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission” or “SEC”) agreed to resolve an enforcement action against Juniper Networks, Inc. (“Juniper” or the “Company”), a Silicon Valley-based cybersecurity and...more
9/4/2019
/ Bribery ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
China ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subsidiaries
On April 30, 2019, the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, Brian A. Benczkowski, announced an update to the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) 2017 guidance document entitled Evaluation of Corporate Compliance...more
5/10/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Declination ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Ethics ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Investigations ,
Mergers ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Assessment ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Training
This is the sixth issue of WilmerHale’s 10-in-10 Hot Topics in Energy Series. Over the course of 10 weeks, our attorneys will share insights on current and emerging issues affecting the US energy sector....more
3/8/2019
/ Brazil ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Ecuador ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Mexico ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
PEMEX ,
Petrobras ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Despite predictions of a slow-down in enforcement under the Trump administration—and indications that enforcement in some areas has decreased in the past year1—2018 was yet again an active year for FCPA enforcement. The year...more
1/18/2019
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Brazil ,
Bribery ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
China ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Investigations ,
Corruption ,
Credit Suisse ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Declination ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Panasonic ,
Petrobras ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers ,
Yates Memorandum
On November 29, WilmerHale held its second annual Women in Energy and Infrastructure - Powering the Future conference in Washington DC. The event and pre-conference dinner provided a forum for women thought leaders to discuss...more
In a November 29, 2018 speech, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced a softening of the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) policy on giving credit for cooperation in corporate prosecutions.
As memorialized in the...more
On October 12, 2018 in remarks made at the NYU School of Law Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement’s Conference on Achieving Effective Compliance, Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice...more
On August 24, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a significant ruling regarding the reach of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) over foreign companies and individuals in United...more
8/30/2018
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Alstom ,
Appeals ,
Bribery ,
Conspiracies ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Popular
On July 2, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission or SEC) settled an enforcement action against Beam Suntory Inc. (Beam), a worldwide beverage maker and distributor, over alleged violations of the Foreign...more
On May 9, 2018, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein introduced a new Department of Justice (DOJ) Policy on Coordination of Corporate Resolution Penalties (the Policy) while speaking at the New York City Bar White Collar...more
On December 20, 2017, President Trump issued a new Executive Order (EO) targeting corruption and human rights abuses around the world.
The EO implements last year's Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (the...more
On November 29, 2017, “[d]ue to the unique issues presented in FCPA matters,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced a new FCPA corporate enforcement policy published in a revision to the United States Attorneys'...more