For the Justice Department and the SEC, 2023 was a slow year in FCPA enforcement. Despite promises of aggressive enforcement, DOJ and the SEC failed to achieve increases in FCPA enforcement. DOJ and the SEC issued no blockbuster enforcement actions or settlements. The SEC's number of enforcement actions was steady and eclipsed its 2022 number by one. Equally significant was DOJ's reduction in individual criminal prosecutions, thereby raising legitimate questions as to its ability to deliver on its promise of aggressive enforcement against individual FCPA violators. Despite a slower enforcement year, DOJ dedicated significant resources to issuance of new policy statements encouraging voluntary disclosures, incentivizing clawbacks, elevating compliance programs and offering new safe harbors for mergers and acquisitions.
In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews FCPA enforcement in 2023 and outlines new compliance trends in the anti-corruption field.
- Clear Channel's former Chinese subsidiary, Clear Media, was charged with bribery violations involving expensive gifts, entertainment, and travel given to influence contract renewal negotiations with Chinese government officials.
- Clear Media engaged in deceptive practices, such as falsely documenting payments to cleaning and maintenance companies to fund illegal payments. They used oral agreements, omitted gift recipients, and created false invoices and tax records to disguise payments through shell company intermediaries.
- Senior executive complicity was another trend observed in the cases discussed. In some instances, senior executives were aware of the bribery schemes but either turned a blind eye or actively participated in the misconduct.
- Internal audits conducted from 2012 to 2017 identified deficiencies, red flags, and indicators of bribery within Clear Channel. However, the company failed to take aggressive remedial actions to address these issues.
- Clear Media resisted internal auditors and even provided false information, hindering the detection and resolution of bribery-related problems.
- Despite these challenges, Clear Channel cooperated extensively with the investigation. They promptly shared relevant facts, produced necessary documents, and facilitated interviews with current and former employees.
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