There were three FCPA enforcement actions brought or announced in August 2015.
BNY Mellon became the first – of what is expected to be several financial services companies – to pay millions ($14.8 million to be precise) in an SEC enforcement action based on its alleged internship practices. This flagged various issues to consider from the enforcement action including that it was the first SEC FCPA enforcement ever not to include allegations or findings of books and records violations. This recent BNY Mellon enforcement action highlight why the meaning of “foreign official” matters.
The DOJ and SEC brought a parallel enforcement action against Vicente Garcia (a U.S. citizen and former head of Latin America sales for SAP) for alleged conduct in Panama. Garcia pleaded guilty and is to be sentenced in December. Garcia agreed to resolve the SEC action by agreeing to pay approximately $93,000. This follow-up post highlights how rare the parallel DOJ and SEC enforcement action against an individual was.
The DOJ quietly announced a June 2015 enforcement action against Daren Condrey (a former owner and executive of Maryland-based Transport Logistics International) for bribing an alleged Russian “foreign official” employed by entities involved in the supply of uranium to the nuclear industry. Condrey pleaded guilty and is to be sentenced in November. The alleged Russian “foreign official” (Vadim Mikerin) pleaded guilty in a related enforcement action to money laundering offenses.”