Criminal Cases

US/UK/Brazil – Jan 2017 – Rolls Royce plc has entered deferred prosecution agreements with the US DOJ and the UK Serious Fraud Office, and has entered a ‘leniency agreement’ with the Brazilian Ministério Público Federal, to resolve criminal charges concerning its “long-running scheme to bribe government officials in exchange for government contracts” in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Angola, Iraq, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Russia, Nigeria, China, Malaysia and Brazil. $800 million in penalties have been agreed across the three jurisdictions.   US DOJ press release here, US DPA here; UK Serious Fraud Office press release here; judgment here (note the interesting comments about the need to truncate the usual schedule to rush the judgment through before Trump’s inauguration).

US – Jan 2017 – “The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that a Warsaw, Ind.-based medical device manufacturer has agreed to pay more than $30 million to resolve parallel SEC and Department of Justice investigations into the company’s repeat violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

US – Dec 2016 – Redflex Traffic Systems Inc engaged in bribery; its CEO was convicted of bribery and jailed for 30 months; Redflex entered a DPA: “In exchange for Redflex’s fulfillment of its obligations under the agreement, DOJ agreed that it will not criminally prosecute Redflex for any of the conduct arising out of investigations in Chicago and Columbus.  The agreement does not relate to any potential tax charges.  Redflex Traffic Systems is wholly owned by Redflex Holdings Group of Melbourne, Australia, which owns and operates a network of digital speed and red-light cameras worldwide.  The company installs cameras that automatically record and ticket drivers who run red lights.  As part of the Non-Prosecution Agreement, Redflex accepted responsibility for its conduct related to the illegal activities of its employees in recent U.S. investigations.  Its former CEO was convicted as part of the probes into bribes paid to elected officials to procure or expand Redflex’s contracts with Chicago and Columbus. ”

US – Dec 2016 – “General Cable Corporation, a Kentucky-based manufacturer and distributor of cable and wire, entered into a non-prosecution agreement and agreed to pay a $20 million penalty, reflecting a 50 percent reduction off the bottom of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines fine range, to resolve the government’s investigation into improper payments to government officials in Angola, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia and Thailand to corruptly gain business in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)”  Interesting because the corporation self-reported and cooperated; the DOJ touts this as a generous settlement that should encourage others to self-report.  Will be interesting to see if there are prosecutions of the individuals involved.

US – Dec 2016 – “The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that the parent company of United Airlines has agreed to pay $2.4 million to settle charges in a case where shareholders wound up footing the bill so a public official could get more convenient flights.”  Interesting because here it was the government official who bribed the corporation… to shareholders’ detriment.

Mixed Criminal & Civil Cases

USA – Jan 2017 – “The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Chilean-based chemical and mining company Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) agreed to pay more than $30 million to resolve parallel civil and criminal cases finding that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Civil Cases

 

Administrative Actions