Global Anti-Corruption Insights: Summer 2023

• Jurisdiction: United States,Federal
• Law Firm: Arnold & Porter
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Government, Public Sector, Criminal Law, Technology, Money Laundering, White Collar Crime, Anti-Corruption & Fraud, Whistleblowing, Fin Tech
• Author: Mr Marcus Asner, Amy Jeffress, Soo-Mi Rhee, Daniel Bernstein and Ryan D. White
• Published date: 24 July 2023

The first half of 2023 produced several significant developments related to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other global anti-corruption laws, including the SEC's largest-ever whistleblower award; an FCPA case based on domestic (not foreign) bribery; the first-ever FCPA prosecution based on a cryptocurrency bribe; a rare appeals court opinion interpreting the FCPA; and new economic sanctions linked to corruption. We cover these and other recent highlights from the world of anti-corruption enforcement.

SEC Issues Largest-Ever Whistleblower Award in Blockbuster FCPA Case

On May 5, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an award of nearly US$279 million to a whistleblower who, according to media reports, provided original information and assistance that led to Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson's over US$1 billion settlement with U.S. authorities in 2019 for violations of the FCPA. Interestingly, the whistleblower's information did not prompt the SEC's investigation ' but it did expand the scope of the misconduct charged.

Gurbir Grewal, the Director of the SEC Division of Enforcement, said: "The size of [the] award ' the highest in our program's history ' not only incentivizes whistleblowers to come forward with accurate information about potential securities law violations, but also reflects the tremendous success of our whistleblower program." Under the Dodd-Frank Act, whistleblower awards can range from 10% to 30% of the money collected when the monetary sanctions exceed US$1 million.

In other news coming out of Ericsson's FCPA saga, this past March the company agreed to plead guilty and pay more than US$206 million in additional criminal penalties after breaching its 2019 deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). According to the DOJ's press release, Ericsson failed to truthfully disclose all factual information and evidence related to potential violations of the FCPA in China, Djibouti, and Iraq. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has reported that leaked internal reports from Ericsson's compliance department helped bring these facts to light.

FCPA Applies to More Than Just Foreign Corruption: Individuals Convicted for Bribery of Illinois State Government Officials

On May 2, a federal jury in Chicago found four former Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) executives and associates guilty of conspiracy, bribery, and FCPA offenses related to influencing and rewarding the former Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives to help pass legislation favorable to the electric utility company. The FCPA charges did not involve any alleged corruption of foreign officials, only corruption of Illinois state officials.

The indictment...