This article caught my eye, if for no other reason than it is surprising.
The article reports a conviction of three employees from Lindsey Manufacturing Co. under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for paying bribes in Mexico. The surprising thing is that this is “the first time a company has been convicted at a U.S. trial in a foreign bribery case.”
Specifically:
“[The] conviction marks the first time a company has been convicted at trial for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bans the bribery of foreign officials for business purposes. In the law's 34-year history, companies had always pleaded guilty or signed non- or deferred-prosecution agreements with the Justice Department.”
This case reinforces a trend in recent years (starting with the Bush administration) of a more aggressive enforcement of the FCPA by the Justice Department (see Newsletters: January 26, 2011, November 23, 2009, and September 16, 2009), which has resulted in a significantly larger number of investigations being initiated and now, apparently, in the first ever successful prosecution.
Have a good weekend.
David
Instructor Teaching Site: http://www.sagepub.com/strategiccsr/
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Corporate News: Conviction in Foreign Bribery Case Is First in U.S. Trial
By Samuel Rubenfeld
459 words
11 May 2011
The Wall Street Journal
B4
