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Foreign Corrupt Practices Act & Anti-Corruption

Lawyers of the highest integrity who are extremely bright and on top of changes in the law and government enforcement priorities, and are respected and trusted by government prosecutors. Legal 500

Practice Overview

Buckley lawyers advise on all aspects of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and anti-corruption law. Whether our clients are building or testing compliance programs, or caught in the cross-hairs of criminal or civil FCPA enforcement, we help them determine the most cost-effective, risk-based response to any anti-corruption scenario.

Our difference is our ability to support any course of action chosen by our clients, around the world. In the U.S., we have deep experience with FCPA prosecutors, both criminal and civil, and are one of the few firms to ever take the government to court — and win — in FCPA matters. We also work in collaboration with counsel worldwide in coordinated multi-jurisdiction enforcement defense matters. We have conducted internal investigations across the globe, including in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East; collaborated with local counsel on anti-corruption compliance matters in over a dozen non-U.S. jurisdictions; served as on-call counsel for our clients’ most challenging compliance matters; implemented corruption risk due diligence programs in a number of countries; and conducted numerous top-to-bottom reviews of corporate compliance programs.

We pride ourselves on understanding the details of our clients’ businesses, and in bringing sound and practical advice to any counseling circumstance. We know anti-corruption doctrine and best practices, and work with our clients to ensure that these principles remain intact while still getting business done. This integrated approach pays dividends if an enforcement matter arises. We immediately understand how to evaluate corruption risks and compliance solutions. Moreover, our enforcement work guides our counseling so that new trends and risks are identified and mitigated.

Our team includes several former government enforcement officials, including a 20-year veteran of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Enforcement Division, who investigated numerous high-profile FCPA actions and later served as Chief of the Office of Market Intelligence, where he founded and oversaw the SEC’s whistleblower program. Also on our team are long-time Assistant United States Attorneys from the District of Columbia who have tried dozens of criminal cases, as well as FCPA defense veterans. We have been a part of some of the most significant criminal and civil FCPA cases of recent years, including the successful four-month criminal trial defense of a defendant in the FCPA/Africa Sting cases, as well as one of the few SEC FCPA civil actions ever to reach a courtroom. Legal 500 noted our FCPA work, calling it an “area in which the team has ‘deep and relevant experience.’”

Examples of our current or recent FCPA representations include:

  • Defending against multi-jurisdictional government investigations and civil litigation: Representing Universal Entertainment Corp., a large Japanese gaming manufacturer, and its subsidiary, Aruze USA, Inc., in FCPA-related litigation brought by Wynn Resorts Ltd., as well as in related parallel matters; the case involves one of the first examples of a private party alleging FCPA violations as a method to gain an upper hand in a contract dispute
     
  • Conducting internal investigations, negotiating FCPA resolutions, and improving compliance structures: Represented The Dow Chemical Company in an FCPA case involving a fifth-tier subsidiary in India, resulting in a settled, no-admission action with the SEC, which agreed not to impose a compliance monitor
     
  • Criminal trial defense: Represented an individual (John Mushriqui) indicted as part of the “FCPA Sting” case, the largest FCPA criminal enforcement proceeding against individuals ever brought by the DOJ, following the only modern use by the FBI in an FCPA case of tactics such as a sting, an informant, undercover agents, and mass use of audio-visual surveillance; following a four-month trial, the DOJ dismissed all charges
     
  • Civil enforcement / SEC litigation defense: Represented Mark Jackson, the former CEO/CFO of oilfield services company Noble Corp., in an SEC enforcement action brought in federal court. Following hotly contested litigation, the SEC agreed on the eve of trial to settle the matter without our client paying any money and without any restriction on his future employment opportunities
Lawyers of the highest integrity who are extremely bright and on top of changes in the law and government enforcement priorities, and are respected and trusted by government prosecutors. Legal 500

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Our Foreign Corrupt Practices Act & Anti-Corruption Team

FYI

"Stronger transatlantic cooperation could be boon for DOJ, ailing U.K. Serious Fraud Office" by Timothy J. Coley (Bloomberg Law)

"Foreign defendants beware of 'outside the United States' sentencing enhancements" by Paige Ammons

"Why doesn’t McDonnell apply to foreign bribery?" by Nadav Ariel

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