Exporters shouldn't expect a grace period from enforcement under the Bureau of Industry and Security's new 50% rule, but the agency likely is first looking for intentional violators as opposed to exporters who made good-faith efforts to comply, industry lawyers and advisers said in interviews.
A jury convicted a Georgia businessman on Sept. 15 for his role in a scheme to bribe Honduran government officials to secure business for a Georgia-based manufacturer of law enforcement uniforms and accessories in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, DOJ announced. Carl Zaglin was found to have paid bribes to secure business with "Comite Tecnico del Fideicomiso para la Administracion del Fondo de Proteccion y Seguridad Poblacional (TASA), a Honduran governmental entity that procured goods for the Honduran National Police and other Honduran security agencies."
Veronica Dragalin, former assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California and former chief prosecutor of the Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office for Moldova, has joined Jones Day's investigations and white collar defense practice, the firm announced. Dragalin has worked on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters, among other white collar issues.
Vanessa Sisti left DOJ as the assistant chief of the Fraud Section's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit to join Sony, she announced last week on LinkedIn. Sisti has worked as a federal prosecutor since 2013.
DOJ's Office of the Deputy Attorney General released new guidance for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement after President Donald Trump earlier this year paused FCPA enforcement to come up with new enforcement guidelines (see 2502120051). The memo laid out criteria for future FCPA cases and said prosecutors should prioritize the following four factors: the "total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations," "safeguarding fair opportunities for U.S. companies," advancing U.S. national security and investigations of "serious misconduct."
Jerrob Duffy, former head of DOJ's litigation unit in the criminal fraud section, has joined Hogan Lovells as a partner in the investigations, white collar and fraud practice, the firm announced. Duffy joins from Squire Patton, and his practice includes sanctions violations, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act proceedings and the False Claims Act investigations, Hogan Lovells said.
State attorneys general may take the lead on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement in light of the Donald Trump administration's pause on enforcing the act, attorneys at Crowell & Moring said in an April 14 alert. There's good reason to believe states will follow California's lead in announcing that it will enforce anti-foreign bribery efforts, the firm said.
The U.K., Switzerland and France last week launched a new task force that they said will “strengthen our collective effort” to tackle bribery- and corruption-related crimes. The three countries’ International Anti-Corruption Prosecutorial Taskforce will allow them to regularly share information on enforcement work and propose coordinating on cases, they said. The task force was announced more than a month after the Trump administration unveiled plans to roll back enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (see 2502100055 and 2502120051).
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Abby Kohlman, former DOJ prosecutor in the fraud section, has rejoined Akin Gump as senior counsel in the white collar defense and government investigations practice, the firm announced. At DOJ, Kohlman also served as special counsel for the Office of Legislative Affairs. Kohlman's practice will focus on advising clients on congressional investigations and other government inquiries, including those related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.