Good news for attorneys, especially those with foreign language backgrounds.  It seems that FCPA enforcement is not slowing down one bit.

From George J. Terwilliger, III, Darryl S. Lew, Daniel Levin and G. William Currier of White & Case LLP:

On the heels of the US Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) massive sting operation, which resulted in the indictment of 22 individuals for conspiracy to violate the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”),1 the DOJ and US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) appear close to settling half-a-dozen investigations involving corrupt payments to foreign officials made by Alcatel-Lucent, BAE Systems plc, Daimler AG, Innospec Inc., Pride International, Inc. and Technip S.A.2 If concluded, these anticipated settlements could result in more than US$1.1 billion in criminal fines, civil penalties and disgorgement—nearly double the more than US$646 million in fines, penalties and disgorgement recovered in 2009, and more than ever recovered in a single year since the FCPA’s enactment in 1977. And it’s only March 3…

Here are two great stories that signify an encouraging trend for anyone working in complex FCPA litigation and e-discovery.

First, from Robert Trigaux of the St. Petersburg Times:

John Benson Wier III, 46 and president of St. Petersburg’s SRT Supply, was in Las Vegas this week hawking military equipment from Booth 26506 at the 2010 Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade show.

His sales pitch was short lived. He was one of 22 arrested in a Federal Bureau of Investigation sting Monday and charged with attempting to bribe foreign officials and money laundering.

FBI agents posing as defense officials of an African country proposed a scheme in which U.S. companies would pay 20 percent “commissions” to equip a presidential guard with pistols, tear-gas launchers, bulletproof vests and other supplies.

Wier, says the U.S. Department of Justice, was supposed to provide 1,800 grip-mounted laser sites. Also arrested was Andrew Bigelow, 40, managing partner and director of government programs for a Sarasota company called Gun Search that sells machine guns, grenade launchers and other small arms.

This week, 150 FBI agents executed 14 search warrants in locations across the country, including St. Petersburg.

The 16 indictments unsealed Tuesday represent the largest single investigation and prosecution against individuals in the history of the Department of Justice’s enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Also from Amy Miller at Corporate Counsel:

In what’s billed as the first large-scale undercover investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Justice Department has netted 22 executives, including the general counsel of a company that makes military equipment. They were charged with attempting to pay bribes to win lucrative overseas contracts worth $15 million.

“The fight to erase foreign bribery from the corporate playbook will not be won overnight,” Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said in a press release. “But these actions are a turning point. From now on would-be FCPA violators should stop and ponder whether the person they are trying to bribe might really be a foreign agent…”

…Usually, possible FCPA violations come to the department’s attention only after companies report them, or they’re reported by the news media. So companies that may be trying to comply with the law are often hit hard. That’s not the case here, she said…

Among those indicted was Jeana Mushriqui, 30, general counsel for Mushriqui Consulting, a company in Upper Darby, Pa., that makes and exports bulletproof vests and other law enforcement and military equipment. She and her brother, John Mushriqui, the company’s director, face six counts of violating the FCPA, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering…

Both of these stories add weight to and are consistent with the Attorney General’s speech on financial fraud from roughly two weeks ago.

Unfortunately, you have to subscribe to read the rest of this post, but I wanted to go ahead and post the teaser blurb>

From FDANews.com:

Devicemakers may face an increase in indictments as the Justice Department zeroes in on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations. Justice’s FCPA and healthcare fraud units are beginning to work together to investigate FCPA violations in the device and pharmaceutical industries, Lanny Breuer, Justice assistant attorney general, said at the Pharmaceutical Regulatory and Compliance Congress. He noted that Justice is working more closely with the SEC, and international cooperation and information sharing is increasing as well…

In keeping with our recent bribery theme, here is a great post from Joshua Gilliland of Bow Tie Law on the intersection of bribery and technology:

Sometimes there are fact patterns that surprise you how far we have come with technology and the foolishness of people.

In People v. McInnis, the Defendant was convicted of attempted witness bribery. The Defendant attempted to keep witnesses from testifying against the Defendant’s nephew, in the nephew’s trial for robbery and kidnapping. People v. McInnis, 2009 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 9046 (California Unpublished Opinions 2009)…

…One of the victims in the robbery and kidnapping case received the following letter with a cell phone number to call:

“The purpose of this letter and its contents is to compensate you for your initial loss that occurred as a result of the robbery. I believe you have at least 1 Thousand reasons to be compensated for your pain and suffering. However, I feel that because you are the true victim in this crime, you deserve much more compensation for your pain and suffering. While it’s obvious that the defendants don’t have the ability to adequately compensate you, I do have the ability to do so on their behalf.”

R. Christopher Cook  and Stephanie Connor Jones Day provide some more insight into an article I had posted about earlier regarding the DOJ’s renewed interest in going after pharmaceuticals fro FCPA violations.  Note you do have to register to get this article, but it takes less than two minutes, and they very rarely spam your email account.

From Mondaq.com:

Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) continued to grow last week. On Thursday, November 12, a senior Department of Justice (“DOJ”) official predicted increased scrutiny of the pharmaceutical industry under the FCPA. A day later, prosecutors obtained a 13-year sentence for a former U.S. Congressman convicted of conspiring to violate the law. These and other developments highlight important questions regarding the standard by which knowledge under the FCPA will be measured. If the DOJ continues to take the position that a mere failure to investigate possible bribery can give rise to FCPA liability, then businesses will face heightened risks in their overseas operations…