Iris Bennett, former cross-border investigations and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act attorney at boutique firm Smith Pachter, has joined Steptoe & Johnson as a partner in its Investigations and White Collar Defense Group, the firm announced. Based in Washington D.C., Bennett will tap her experience carrying out internal investigations over potential violations of the FCPA, the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act, the firm said.
Agustin Orozco, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California for the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, has rejoined Crowell & Moring, the firm announced. Orozco will work as a partner in the Los Angeles office's White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement and Government Contracts groups. He will focus on white collar criminal defense and corporate investigations, and advise individuals and companies on matters relating to the "Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), False Claims Act (FCA), Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and alleged violations of Title 18 of the United States Code," the firm said.
Timothy Broas, former U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands, joined Wilson Sonsini in the firm's government investigations practice as senior of counsel, the law firm said. Broas joins from Bryan Cave, where he worked for just over three years on white collar matters including Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.
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Audrey Harris, an anti-corruption and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act attorney, has joined Affiliated Monitors in Denver as managing director of global anti-corruption, compliance, ethics and non-financial risk, Harris announced in a LinkedIn post. Harris left her position as partner and co-chair of Mayer Brown's Anti-Corruption & FCPA Practice in Washington, D.C., after working at the firm since 2018.
Daniel Solomon, former anti-corruption and trade compliance attorney at Smith Pachter, joined Miller & Chevalier as a member its International Department, the firm announced. Solomon brings to his new practice experience with economic sanctions, export controls and U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement and investigations, the firm said.
Companies looking to comply with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act should be prepared for a “surge” in government enforcement and activity this year after a relatively quiet 2021, Kramer Levin said in a December alert. Although the U.S.’s recent downward trend in FCPA enforcement activity continued last year with just 15 related actions, the Biden administration may have set the stage for increased enforcement during the rest of its term, the firm said. Not only did the administration recently announce several initiatives aimed at combating corruption -- including a new strategy to better curb illicit finance (see 2112060018) -- it also significantly added to the Department of Justice’s FCPA unit in March.
Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares pleaded guilty on Dec. 14 to conspiracy to commit money laundering as part of a massive bribery scheme that has already seen punishments doled out to Brazil-based global construction conglomerate Odebrecht S.A., the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said. The conglomerate pleaded guilty in 2016 to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for a bribery and money laundering scheme in Panama. Luis Martinelli Linares, Ricardo's brother, pleaded guilty on Dec. 2 to the same misconduct.
Kenyen Brown, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, has joined Hughes Hubbard as a partner in the White Collar and Regulatory Defense, and Anti-Corruption and Internal Investigations practices, based in Washington, D.C., the firm announced. Brown's practice will center on white collar criminal litigation, including corporate counseling on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the False Claims Act, the firm said. Prior to joining Hughes Hubbard, Brown was a partner at Maynard Cooper.
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