Category Archives: Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

Deputy Attorney General Delivers Keynote at ACI FCPA Conference 

by Greg D. Andres, Martine M. Beamon, Daniel S. Kahn, and Neil H. MacBride

Left to right: Greg D. Andres, Martine M. Beamon, Daniel S. Kahn and Neil H. MacBride (photos courtesy of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP)

On December 4, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and other DOJ officials participated in the annual ACI FCPA conference in Washington DC, outlining key principles to corporate enforcement and FCPA investigations and prosecutions.  The remarks provide insight into how this DOJ is approaching FCPA enforcement and corporate enforcement more broadly.

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DOJ Announces First FCPA Enforcement Activity After Months-Long Pause

by Kimberly A. Parker, Jay Holtmeier, Erin G.H. Sloane, and Christopher Cestaro

Left to Right: Kimberly A. Parker, Jay Holtmeier, Erin G.H. Sloane, and Christopher Cestaro (photos courtesy of WilmerHale)

Over the past week, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) unsealed its first Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement action and issued its first declination since the pause in FCPA enforcement mandated by President Donald Trump’s February 10, 2025 Executive Order (“February Executive Order”)[1] and the subsequent issuance of updated FCPA enforcement guidelines, the Guidelines for Investigations and Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) (“June Guidelines”).[2]  

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Italy under OECD Scrutiny: Foreign Bribery and the Rule of Law

by Simone Lonati 

Photo courtesy of the author

In order to respond to the phenomenon of the so-called “global crime”[1] in the last decades there has been a proliferation of multilateral international and regional treaties in criminal matters, together with executives and soft law measures in the field. International corruption is not an exception: starting from the 1990s, thanks to the pivotal role of the United States back in 1977 when it adopted the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, there has been a wave of conventions adopted by bodies such as the OECD, the UN, the Council of Europe and the European Union, each bringing different approaches and demands to domestic legal systems.

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Second Circuit Reinstates FIFA Bribery Convictions, Reviving Honest Services Fraud Prosecutions for Foreign Commercial Bribery

by David A. Last, Rahul Mukhi, Victor L. Hou, Lisa Vicens, Matthew M. Yelovich, and Sarah Pyun

From left to right:  David A. Last, Rahul Mukhi, Victor L. Hou, Lisa Vicens, Matthew M. Yelovich, and Sarah Pyun (photos courtesy of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP)

In a significant decision with broad implications for companies and individuals operating internationally, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has reversed the acquittal of a former media executive and a sports marketing company in the long-running FIFA bribery investigation.[1]  The ruling reinstates jury convictions for honest services wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy, holding that the federal honest services fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1346, can apply to foreign commercial bribery schemes.[2]

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DOJ Announces New Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement Guidelines

by David B. Anders, John F. Savarese, and Aline R. Flodr

Photos of the authors

Left to right: David B. Anders, John F. Savarese, and Aline R. Flodr (photos courtesy of authors)

On June 9, 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the awaited new guidelines for prosecutors investigating and enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”).  These enforcement guidelines were issued in response to President Trump’s Executive Order titled “Pausing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement to Further American Economic and National Security,” which directed DOJ to “pause” certain FCPA investigations while reassessing enforcement priorities and to issue new FCPA enforcement guidelines within 180 days.  The stated aim of the new policy is to reduce undue burdens on American companies operating abroad and to focus on activities that undermine U.S. national interests.  The memorandum announcing the guidelines directs prosecutors to consider the following non-exhaustive factors and confirms that these new guidelines shall govern all current and future FCPA investigations and enforcement actions:

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UK, French, and Swiss Enforcement Authorities Announce New Alliance

by Lloyd Firth, Dr. Jan-S. Wendler, Claire M. Guehenno, Kimberly A. Parker, Jay Holtmeier, Erin G.H. Sloane, Christopher Cestaro, and Lindsey Cullen

Top left to right: Lloyd Firth, Dr. Jan-S. Wendler, Claire M. Guehenno and Kimberly A. Parker. Bottom left to right: Jay Holtmeier, Erin G.H. Sloane, Christopher Cestaro and Lindsey Cullen (Photos courtesy of WilmerHale).

Summary

Anti-bribery and corruption agencies in the UK, France and Switzerland recently announced a shared commitment to tackling international bribery and corruption, by way of a new taskforce intended to strengthen collaboration.

This taskforce was announced by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), France’s Parquet National Financier (PNF) and the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) at a meeting in London. Its founding statement notes “the significant threat of bribery and corruption” and states that its members recognise that “success relies on us working closely and effectively together”. It intends to deliver a working group for case cooperation and increased best practice sharing.

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Recalibrating Compliance Programs Under Trump 2.0

by Adam Siegel, Eric Bruce, Daniel Cendan, and Emmeline Chen

Photos of the authors

Left to right: Adam Siegel, Eric Bruce, Daniel Cendan, and Emmeline Chen (photos courtesy of authors)

Nearly two months into his second presidential term, President Trump and his Administration have engaged in a flurry of activity, issuing over 80 executive orders (EOs), 20 memoranda, and a dozen proclamations, as well as making personnel adjustments and redeploying various federal resources.  Together with his Cabinet members, President Trump has sought to swiftly roll out policy initiatives, many of which reflect a significant change in course from the United States’ prior approaches and create uncertainty and new risks across multiple sectors.  

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Crippling the FCPA Is Bad Business for the U.S.

by Stephen M. Kohn

Photo courtesy of the author

On February 10, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order (E.O.) to pause enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The E.O. is based upon the inaccurate premise that the United States’ enforcement of the anti-bribery law unfairly cracks down on U.S. companies and harms their competitiveness in the global marketplace. During the pause, the Justice Department will reevaluate the enforcement strategies behind the FCPA, and presumably approve a new approach to FCPA enforcement. But the intent behind the Executive Order does not bode well for future U.S. prosecutions of criminal bribe paying in foreign countries.

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Reflections from the 2025 ABA White Collar Crime Conference: Evaluating the Implications of the New Administration’s Enforcement Priorities

by Robertson Park

Photos of the author

Photo courtesy of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

The 2025 ABA White Collar Crime Conference in Miami drew a large audience of more than 1,300 lawyers and another several hundred attending the evening’s events — and yet there was not a single DOJ representative. This reflects the amorphous and challenged state of DOJ leadership. I have not enough fingers to count the close generational friends and senior DOJ leaders who have been terminated, transferred, or forced out.  Natural questions about who is leading and where, and how they propose to get there were unanswered. The White-Collar Bar have become advocates for those who have been our foils. The “Regulators Speak” presentation reflected the fraught state of affairs. The new CFTC Director of Enforcement and the Acting SEC Associate Director of Enforcement spoke and certainly professed that while certain priorities may shift the fundamental effort to protect market integrity would continue, though the SEC representative confirmed that they will be abiding by the FCPA stand-down. This presentation was met by an individual audience member who took the microphone to cast a broadside against the new Administration.  

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President Trump and Attorney General Bondi Announce Significant Shift in FCPA and Other Corporate Enforcement Priorities

by Kimberly A. Parker, Matt Jones, Jay Holtmeier, Erin G.H. Sloane, Christopher Cestaro, Brenda E. Lee, Aaron M. Zebley and Emily L. Stark

Photos of authors.

Top left to right: Kimberly Parker, Matt Jones, Jay Holtmeier, and Erin Sloane. Bottom left to right: Christopher Cestaro, Brenda Lee, Aaron Zebley, and Emily Stark. (Photos courtesy of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP).

Soon after being sworn in, President Trump issued Executive Orders identifying top administration priorities: combating illegal immigration, drug cartels, and unlawful DEI practices. Taking a similar tack, on her first day in office, February 5, 2025, Attorney General Pamela Bondi instructed the US Department of Justice (“DOJ” or “Department”) to redirect its enforcement efforts from certain corporate crimes so that it could devote greater attention to the priorities outlined by the President. Across fourteen memoranda that promised more guidance to follow, Attorney General Bondi detailed changes that could transform the corporate enforcement landscape. This included a direction to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) Unit of the DOJ to “prioritize investigations related to foreign bribery that facilitates the criminal operations of Cartels and TCOs,” or transnational criminal organizations, and to “shift focus away from investigations and cases that do not involve such a connection.”[1]

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