Switzerland-based global technology firm ABB agreed to pay over $315 million to settle a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation over the bribery of an official at South Africa's state-owned energy company, DOJ announced Dec. 2. DOJ coordinated the resolution of the case with the SEC and authorities in South Africa and Switzerland.
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Marshall Islands citizens Cary Yan and Gina Zhou pleaded guilty Dec. 1 to conspiring to bribe Marshallese officials for legislation that would benefit the pair's business interests, DOJ announced. The two admitted to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and face a maximum of five years in prison.
The U.S. is likely to see several more resolutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the coming months, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri said at an annual FCPA conference this week. Argentieri made the remark after highlighting FCPA enforcement action taken in 2022. These moves included three corporate FCPA resolutions, involving Stericycle, Glencore and GOL Linhas Airlines, and one declination under the Corporate Enforcement Policy with disgorgement, involving Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Holdings (JLT).
Julian Zou, former partner at Venable and international financing attorney, joined Procopio Cory as a partner in the Silicon Valley office, the firm announced. Zou's practice will center on his experience working on compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Chinese anti-bribery law counseling and investigations, the firm said.
Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic, Bolivia's former minister of government, pleaded guilty Oct. 20 to conspiracy to launder bribes received in exchange for helping a U.S. company secure a $5.6 million contract from the Bolivian government, DOJ announced. Murillo faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The failures of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson and Korea Telecommunications Corporation (KT) provide poignant lessons on how to beef up protection against corruption risks, particularly within the telecommunications sector, lawyers at Hogan Lovells said in an analysis posted on the firm's website Oct. 11. The sector "is particularly vulnerable to corruption," meaning compliance functions must look to "double down on their efforts to ensure that robust and efficient processes" are implemented and stress-tested, the post said.
Oracle Corporation will pay more than $23 million to settle charges it violated parts of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when its Turkish, Emirati and Indian subsidiaries used slush funds to bribe foreign officials for business from 2016 to 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced. The company agreed to pay around $8 million in disgorgement and a $15 million penalty, along with agreeing to "cease and desist" from violating the anti-bribery, books and records and internal accounting controls elements of the FCPA, SEC said. Oracle did so without admitting or denying the SEC findings.
Adam Goldberg, former partner at Simpson Thacher in Hong Kong, has joined Pillsbury Winthrop as a litigation partner in San Francisco, the firm announced. Goldberg's practice will center around issues relating to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, commercial bribery, violations of U.S. and Hong Kong securities laws, embezzlement and U.S. sanctions, the firm said. He also advises clients across a host of industries on matters involving the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., sanctions and export controls compliance. Much of his current practice, and practice at Simpson Thacher, revolves around China, though he has experience advising on matters involving South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, the firm said.
Deborah Connor, former chief of DOJ's Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, has joined Morrison Foerster as a partner in the Washington, D.C.-based Litigation Department, the firm announced. While at DOJ, Connor oversaw various investigative actions, including matters involving violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and economic sanctions. Before taking over MLARS, Connor served at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia for 16 years, working in various roles, including as chief of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section, where she led the prosecution of cases involving violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the firm said. At Morrison Foerster, Connor will center her practice on anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act matters.
Brazilian airline GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes will pay over $41 million to settle criminal and civil investigations by DOJ, SEC and Brazilian authorities on bribery charges, DOJ announced in a Sept. 15 news release. DOJ and the airline entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement over charges that the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; the airline agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $17 million.