Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 24-28 in case they were missed.
Technip FMC (TFMC) and its subsidiary Technip USA, reached a $296 million settlement with the Justice Department after being charged with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, according to a June 25 press release.
Winston & Strawn hired Christopher Monahan, previously with Crowell & Moring, as a partner, Winston said in a June 24 news release. Monahan "counsels clients across a broad scope of industries regarding compliance with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), the sanctions programs administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)," the firm said.
Walmart and its Brazilian subsidiary settled for $137 million after the Department of Justice said both violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, according to a June 20 press release. The subsidiary, WMT Brasilia S.a.r.l, pleaded guilty to the charges.
A dual U.S.-Venezuela citizen pleaded guilty to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act after the Department of Justice said he bribed officials of Petroleos de Venezuela, Venezuela’s state-run oil company. Jose Manuel Gonzalez Testino, who controlled multiple U.S.-based companies, was charged with one count each of conspiracy to violate the FCPA, violating the FCPA and failing to report foreign bank accounts, the DOJ said in a May 29 press release.
A U.S. citizen and part-owner of a Honolulu-based engineering and consulting company was sentenced to 30 months in prison on May 13 for his involvement in a bribery conspiracy with a Micronesian government official, the Department of Justice said in a press release. Frank James Lyon had pleaded guilty in January after he was charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (see 1904040035). Lyon conspired with Master Halbert, a Micronesian official, to award Lyon’s company contracts from the Micronesian government in exchange for cash bribes, the department said. Lyon also bribed Hawaii state officials as part of the conspiracy, according to the press release. As a result, Lyon obtained contracts worth more than $10 million, the department said. Halbert pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in April; sentencing is scheduled for July 29.
China’s recently issued exclusion process for duties on more than 5,000 tariff lines of U.S. products (see 1905130043) shows it is prepared for a “long-term fight” and may be getting ready to “hunker down” in the trade war with the U.S., said Pete Mento, vice president for Crane Worldwide Logistics.
A Micronesian government official pleaded guilty to money laundering charges that violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Department of Justice said April 3. Master Halbert, an official in Micronesia’s Department of Transportation, Communications and Infrastructure, received bribes from a Hawaii-based engineering and consulting company in exchange for contracts with the Micronesian government, the department said.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 25-29 in case they were missed.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced a $1.9 million settlement with a Connecticut-based industrial tool manufacturer and its China-based subsidiary after OFAC said the companies violated U.S.-imposed sanctions on Iran, according to a March 27 notice. The U.S. company -- Stanley Black & Decker -- and the Chinese subsidiary -- Jiangsu Guoqiang Tools Co. (GQ) -- attempted to export 23 “shipments of power tools and spare parts” worth more than $3 million to Iran from mid-2013 to the end of 2014, OFAC said.