A company’s remediation and cooperation efforts recently helped it avoid prosecution for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
According to a Department of Justice letter, a DOJ investigation found evidence that for approximately six years a U.S. company, through a foreign office, knowingly paid an agent in Angola the equivalent of approximately $4.3 million in commissions to help the company obtain business with agencies of the Angolan government. Certain company employees took steps to conceal the nature of the agent’s work when internal questions arose, including by backdating contracts and falsifying the agent’s purported work product.
However, the DOJ said it has declined prosecution of this matter based on a number of factors, including the company’s (1) voluntary self-disclosure of the misconduct, (2) full and proactive cooperation, (3) remediation measures, including terminating the personnel involved with compensation-based penalties, (4) agreement to disgorge the $14.4 million in profits from the contracts secured by the agent, and (5) significant improvements to its compliance program and internal controls, including formalizing employee training and vendor/client screening protocols, establishing local and global risk committees that meet regularly, and developing guidelines for opening offices in new and emerging markets. The DOJ also took into account the absence of aggravating circumstances, such as involvement by executive management, significant profit from the misconduct, egregiousness or pervasiveness of the misconduct, or criminal recidivism.
For more information on the FCPA and how to ensure your company’s compliance, please contact attorney Kristine Pirnia at (202) 730-4964 or via email.
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