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President Trump’s 2012 criticism of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is well-documented. At the time, news outlets reported that business mogul Trump commented on Wal-Mart’s alleged facilitation payments in Mexico to obtain various licenses and permits, opining that FCPA was a “horrible law and it should be changed,” and adding that it put U.S. businesses at a “huge disadvantage.” Trump went on to say, “[w]e are like the policemen for the world, it’s ridiculous.”

FCPA Under Previous Administrations

The FCPA was enacted nearly 40 years ago, but its enforcement only really began under President George W. Bush. The Obama administration stepped up enforcement further, opening more FCPA cases than all prior administrations combined. While the DOJ under Obama averaged 12 corporate FCPA resolutions each year from 2011 to 2015, 2016 was a record year for FCPA enforcement with a record 25 corporate resolutions and $2.43 billion in corporate fines and penalties collected by the DOJ and the SEC.

The FCPA Under President Trump…
Continue Reading The First 100 Days: Uncertainty in FCPA Enforcement

SEC and DOJ Targeting Fraud Involving Pre-IPO Companies

Historically regulators have been reluctant to interfere with the complex world of pre-IPO  financing and private market transactions, which tend to involve the most sophisticated investors.  However, several recent public statements make it clear that both the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are focused on finding fraud and other civil and criminal violations at private Silicon Valley companies.  Citing multiple ongoing investigations, Northern California representatives from both the DOJ and the SEC boldly predicted a notable increase in criminal prosecutions (DOJ) and civil enforcement actions (SEC) within the next year.
Continue Reading Silicon Valley in the Cross-Hairs

The Securities and Exchange Commission has had its fair share of controversy related to its in-house administrative enforcement proceedings.  In early June, the SEC invited one of its own Administrative Law Judges to submit an affidavit on the topic of whether he had been pressured to rule in favor of the agency following allegations of…

On April 1, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced its first enforcement action against a company for using improperly restrictive language in confidentiality agreements allegedly aimed at stifling potential whistleblowers.

The SEC charged KBR Inc. with violating whistleblower protection Rule 21F-17 enacted under the Dodd-Frank Act, which prohibits companies from “imped[ing] an individual…