Afework Bereket, former employee of Swedish telecommunications giant Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson and dual citizen of Ethiopia and Sweden, was indicted for his alleged role in a bribery scheme to pay off government officials in Djibouti, the Department of Justice said Sept. 8. Bereket allegedly engaged in the scheme from 2010 to 2014 in which he served as Ericsson's account manager for the Horn of Africa. He purportedly bribed two high-level officials in the small African nation's executive branch and one at its state-owned telecommunications company to win a contract valued at around $24 million. The scheme involved Bereket and others allegedly leading an Ericsson subsidiary to enter into a fraudulent contract with a consulting company that then signed off on fake invoices to hide the bribe payments, DOJ said. The bribe payments were routed through bank accounts in the U.S. to hide the funds, it said.
Several U.S. and multinational companies recently disclosed potential U.S. sanctions violations or updated previous disclosures. The cases involve a destruction of evidence in a sanctions investigation, potentially illegal transactions with Iran, a gaming software company and others.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. should review all U.S. investment transactions by Brazilian meatpacking conglomerate JBS S.A., its holding company J&F Investimentos and any entity owned by the company’s owners Wesley and Joesley Batista, two senators said. The companies use “criminal practices to obtain the funds to acquire U.S. companies,” which may jeopardize U.S. economic security and undermine U.S. efforts to combat corruption, Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in an Aug. 13 letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. “With JBS S.A. planning further U.S. acquisitions in the near future,” the senators said, “the need for a thorough investigation is urgent.”
The Department of Justice last week moved David Last to officially head the Fraud Section’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit, The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 12. Last has been serving as acting unit chief since April. A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment. Last’s appointment is the latest effort by DOJ to staff its FCPA unit with “experienced prosecutors,” Wiley Rein said. The agency has added six new assistant chiefs since the beginning of this year, which “reinforce the current Administration’s focus on proactive FCPA enforcement” and its belief that anti-corruption is a “core national security interest.”
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts was right to allow a new trial for Joseph Baptiste in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit said in an Aug. 9 opinion. Concurring with the district court that Baptiste's counsel was of such deficient performance to allow a retrial, a three-judge panel at the circuit court denied the U.S.'s appeal of the decision to run the trial back.
Jahna Hartwig, former associate general counsel for ethics and compliance at Booz Allen, joined Wilson Sonsini as a senior counsel for the national security practice in the firm's Washington, D.C., office, the firm said in an Aug. 9 news release. Hartwig will look to bolster Wilson Sonsini's national security team using her experience with export control and sanctions compliance, International Traffic in Arms Regulations matters and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act proceedings, the release said. Prior to Booz Allen, Hartwig held director and associate general counsel positions at Sikorsky Aircraft.
Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other global anti-bribery regulations is rising, compliance experts said. Companies may still risk violating anti-bribery laws even while working remotely during the pandemic and should make sure their compliance procedures are being followed, they said.
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Although enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act this year is off to its slowest start in a decade (see 2105050018), industry should expect FCPA penalties to pick up as more Justice Department officials are appointed and the Biden administration follows through on its commitment to combat corruption, lawyers said. They also said the administration will work more closely with allies and within the interagency, which should continue a trend of rising FCPA enforcement.
International trade lawyer Matt Lapin joined Porter Wright as a partner in the firm's Washington office, according to a June 28 press release. Lapin, previously with Torres Law, brings with him experience on export controls and international trade law, including compliance efforts with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and Export Administration Regulations. He also advises on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other domestic and international anti-bribery laws.