Foreign Corrupt Practices Statistics, Qualitative Issues, and Other Developments

Abstract

This article, part of a continuing series of yearly analysis of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement and related developments, provides a detailed overview of quantitative and qualitative FCPA and related information and will be of value to anyone seeking to elevate their FCPA knowledge.

Section I of the article discusses how, similar to prior years in the FCPA’s modern era, 2019 was another year of robust FCPA enforcement against companies large and small and across industry sectors. In fact, 2019 was the largest year in FCPA history in terms of corporate settlement amounts as the government collected approximately $2.65 billion. Section II of the article switches gears to discuss various qualitative issues associated with 2019 FCPA enforcement including: (i) the long time periods associated with FCPA scrutiny; (ii) the general lack of judicial scrutiny of enforcement theories; (iii) the substantial gap between corporate and individual enforcement; and (iv) how much of the largeness of FCPA enforcement was due to enforcement actions against foreign companies; and certain statutory interpretation issues. Section III of the article discusses other noteworthy developments from 2019 including: (i) FCPA and FCPA related enforcement agency policy developments including revisions to the DOJ’s FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy, the DOJ’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs as well as the DOJ’s new so-called “inability to pay” policy; (ii) legislative developments related to the FCPA including efforts to target bribe demands made by foreign officials and how best to make use of FCPA settlement amounts; and (iii) an FCPA related judicial decision providing business organizations possible legal recourse if they lose a business opportunity because of the conduct of another business organization resolving an FCPA enforcement action.

Keywords: FCPA, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act