FCPA

The Mercator Corporation, a merchant bank with offices in New York, has pleaded guilty to one count of making an unlawful payment to a senior government official of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). Additionally, James H. Giffen, Mercator’s chairman, pleaded guilty to one count of failing to disclose control of a Swiss bank account on his income tax return. 

Two foreign subsidiaries of Alliance One International Inc., a global tobacco company headquartered in Morrisville, N.C., pleaded guilty today to violating various provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). In a related matter, Universal Leaf Tabacos Ltda. (Universal Brazil), a subsidiary of Universal Corporation, a Virginia corporation, settled charges, too. 

The SEC has charged the General Electric Company with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for its involvement in a kickback scheme with Iraqi government agencies to win contracts to supply medical equipment and water purification equipment.

The U.S. government today charged Italian company ENI, S.p.A., and its former Dutch subsidiary Snamprogetti Netherlands B.V. with multiple violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) in a bribery scheme that, according to the government, included deliveries of cash-filled briefcases and vehicles to Nigerian government officials to win construction contracts. 

Still don’t believe that international bribery is a risk – and that it’s being prosecuted in the U.S.? Don’t tell that to Flavio Ricotti, an Italian citizen who is a former executive of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.-based valve company Control Components Inc.

We recently spoke with Michael Diaz, Jr., the Miami-based managing partner at Diaz, Reus & Targ, LLP, who has spent more than 20 years in private practice defending and investigating Latin American money laundering and public corruption cases. A Cuban-born bilingual international attorney, Diaz (pictured) is a former U.S.

Technip, a global engineering, construction and services company based in Paris, France, has agreed to a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice of charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”).

Good morning, readers! You know that we’ve been highlighting, quite regularly, the incredibly rapid – and significant – growth in prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Hearing government prosecutors talk about it makes one think it’s all good for everyone – except for the crooks.

There is a large – and growing – emphasis on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the U.S. and around the world. There are more prosecutions, more convictions, and more companies focusing on the rules and establishing programs to prevent violations. How serious is the federal government’s push on the FCPA? Very serious.

We mentioned last week that the head Justice Department lawyer in charge of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, Mark F. Mendelsohn, was expected to join the Paul Weiss law firm. It’s now official, and Mendelsohn will become a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office effective June 1.