FCPA Themes from 2020 with Compliance Commentary

This writing explores 2020 and key FCPA happenings, including the focus on internal controls and books and records.

For example: In a most welcomed, if incredibly soft release, the DOJ/SEC updated the FCPA Resource Guide with a 2nd Edition. The reason it was needed and indeed so welcomed was set out in the Guide itself when it stated, “Although many aspects of the Guide continue to hold true today, the last eight years have also brought new cases, new law, and new policies. The Second Edition of the Guide reflects these updates, including new case law on the definition of the term “foreign official” under the FCPA, the jurisdictional reach of the FCPA, and the FCPA’s foreign written laws affirmative defense. It addresses certain legal standards, including the mens rea requirement and statute of limitations for criminal violations of the accounting provisions. It reflects updated data, statistics, and case examples. And it summarizes new policies applicable to the FCPA that have been announced in the DOJ’s and SEC’s continuing efforts to provide increased transparency, including the DOJ’s FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy, Selection of Monitors in Criminal Division Matters, Coordination of Corporate Resolution Penalties (or Anti-Piling On Policy), and the Criminal Division’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.”

The most significant change is the addition of a new Hallmark, entitled “Investigation, Analysis, and Remediation of Misconduct...To read more, click here!