Anti-Corruption & FCPA

LEADERS

Overview

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is one of the leading law firms in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) practice area.  More than 125 lawyers throughout the firm’s offices worldwide, including a number of former U.S. prosecutors and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials, have extensive anti-corruption and compliance experience in all aspects of FCPA enforcement and compliance.

In addition to conducting FCPA internal investigations in more than 80 countries around the globe, we routinely represent clients in investigations and enforcement proceedings before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Fraud Section, the Enforcement Division of the SEC, and foreign enforcers such as the Serious Fraud Office.  In connection with these investigations, we advise boards of directors, general counsels and senior management regarding company practices, enhancements to compliance programs, disciplinary action for company employees and remedial measures for improving compliance.  Our practice includes an active slate of investigations before the SEC and DOJ.  This work keeps us in almost daily contact with lawyers at the U.S. government and other enforcement authorities on anti-corruption issues.

We also regularly advise clients on all relevant aspects of FCPA compliance programs, from worldwide corruption risk assessments and compliance program evaluations and written policies and procedures to employee training and reporting systems.  In addition to projects that are global in scope, we advise clients on a daily basis on challenging and practical discrete questions of anti-corruption compliance such as the propriety of gifts and entertainment, the adequacy of due diligence, qualifying for the FCPA’s facilitating payments exception, and identifying and addressing corruption risks related to corporate acquisitions and business transactions.

With regard to FCPA compliance, Gibson Dunn has the distinction of being the only law firm to have conducted three separate FCPA monitorships, pursuant to settlements with the SEC and DOJ:

  • Statoil ASA (2007-2009)
  • Siemens AG (2009-2012)
  • Alliance One International (2011-2013)

We also counsel and defend companies undergoing monitorships.  Our extensive monitorship experience enables us to bring unique value to clients by providing rare global insight into internal compliance programs and the challenges they face.  For example, our work on the Siemens, Statoil and Alliance One monitorships required company-wide analysis of all facets of anti-corruption compliance.  Importantly, because all of our work on compliance monitorships (including making detailed recommendations) was reviewed by the U.S. government, we know what prosecutors’ and regulators’ expectations are for all of the various facets of a corporate compliance program.

Our deep experience has led to Gibson Dunn being repeatedly ranked in Band 1 for its FCPA practice in both Chambers Global and Chambers USA.  In Chambers Global 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017, and Chambers USA 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016, our firm alone was ranked in Band 1.  Our overall experience has also led Chambers Global in 2020 – 2014 to rank Gibson Dunn among the leading anti-corruption practices in the world, highlighting most recently our “[p]rominent team known for its handling of investigations across a number of areas,” our “vastly accomplished bench including former officials of … various … government organisations,” our “globally integrated team with deep regional expertise” and our “[d]ynamic and world-renowned FCPA practice group, with experience in ground-breaking investigations.”

Chambers Asia Pacific 2020, which ranked Gibson Dunn Tier 1 among international firms in China for corporate investigations/anti-corruption, highlighted our “[l]eading white-collar practice with significant experience acting on internal and government investigations across the region,” which is “[a]ble to draw on an extensive global network and in-house proficiency in Mandarin and Cantonese” and “serve prominent multinational clients operating in a range of jurisdictions.”  The publication has recognized our team as having “[d]eep experience in handling FCPA, AML, trade control and securities issues.”

EXPERIENCE & RECENT REPRESENTATIONS

Our FCPA practice group specializes in helping clients adapt their existing anti-corruption frameworks to the ever-changing world of anti-corruption compliance and enforcement.

  • We regularly advise clients on the adequacy of their compliance programs, particularly in the areas of gifts and entertainment, third-party due diligence, compliance reporting, detection of high-risk payments, M&A due diligence, and facilitating payments.
  • We have created comprehensive anti-corruption compliance handbooks with illustrative examples, statements from management, detailed discussions of applicable law, and the various forms and procedures that constitute the broader program.
  • We assist clients in conducting appropriate corruption risk assessments and anti-corruption compliance program evaluations, including recent fieldwork in Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, China, Germany, India, Latin America, Russia and the CIS, and Southeast Asia.
  • We help clients address specific anti-corruption compliance challenges throughout the world as they arise, including in such key emerging markets as Brazil, Central and Eastern Europe, China, India, the Middle East, Russia and the CIS, and Southeast Asia.
  • We provide analysis and advice on a range of anti-bribery laws, in addition to the FCPA, including state commercial anti-bribery statutes, enforced federally through the Travel Act.

Additionally, clients frequently rely on us to help guide and perform counterparty and transaction due diligence during the merger or investment.

  • Our clients frequently solicit our advice to examine an entity’s risk profile and evaluate its compliance program and relevant internal controls.
  • We often assist clients in analyzing and reviewing responses to questionnaires and due diligence reports from third-party vendors.
  • We opine on the adequacy of due diligence already conducted on particular counterparties or in the context of mergers or acquisitions.
  • We have conducted due diligence fieldwork in several countries, including China, India, Indonesia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
  • In connection with our work for private equity firms, we have provided advice on M&A due diligence throughout the world in a wide range of industries.

We have broad experience in designing and improving integrity due diligence processes and controls.

Client work includes conducting investigations into anti-corruption compliance issues in numerous regions and countries around the world.  Our investigative work is closely intertwined with corruption risk assessments, anti-corruption compliance program evaluation, and implementation of remedial measures.  Our recent investigative work has included:

  • Representing a multinational telecommunications company in an investigation involving potentially improper payments to government officials in Latin America.
  • Representing a multinational technology company in a government and internal investigation regarding allegedly improper business practices in several countries, including Russia.
  • Conducting investigations for a large U.S. international construction and engineering company into alleged improper payments made in connection with bids for various government contracts in the Middle East.
  • Advising a major U.S. pharmaceutical company with respect to an investigation involving potentially improper payments to government officials in China, Germany, India and Russia.
  • Representing a large Dutch company in an internal investigation involving potentially improper payments to government officials in Southeast Asia.

Gibson Dunn lawyers speak more than 30 different languages.  As a result of these comprehensive skills, we often conduct investigations entirely in the local language.  Among our experienced white collar lawyers, we have extensive foreign language capabilities, including fluency in Arabic, Bahasa Malay, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Ukrainian.  We frequently utilize experienced anti-corruption lawyers in our offices in Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Munich and São Paulo, among others.

Clients have trusted us to handle their most significant enforcement matters.  In addition to numerous nonpublic matters, recent high-profile public resolutions we have helped to secure for major clients include the following:

  • Represented Hewlett-Packard in a multinational joint DOJ/SEC investigation into allegations of bribes allegedly given to government officials in Russia, Poland and Mexico.
  • Represented Weatherford International and its subsidiaries in a joint DOJ/SEC investigation into alleged corrupt transactions in the Middle East and Africa.
  • Represented Allianz in connection with resolving alleged corruption issues in Asia and Europe, persuading the DOJ not to prosecute the company criminally and negotiating very favorable terms with the SEC, including a rare cease-and-desist settlement on books-and-records charges only.
  • Represented the General Electric Company in a joint DOJ/SEC investigation into alleged payments to the government of Iraq in connection with the United Nations Oil-for-Food program.  Of the 19 companies to settle Oil-for-Food-related charges, GE was the only company to receive a declination of criminal prosecution from DOJ.
  • Secured closure of an SEC investigation of Wynn Resorts and the agency’s decision not to pursue any enforcement action against it.  Gibson Dunn represented the company in connection with allegations that its donation to the University of Macau and activities related to its casino or concession licenses or renewals in Macau violated the FCPA.
  • Successfully represented a former corporate executive, Stuart Carson, CEO of a California-based industrial valve manufacturer owned by British firm IMI plc., indicted in connection with alleged violations of the FCPA and Travel Act and facing 15 years in prison.  The indictment charged six defendants with a scheme to pay millions of dollars in alleged bribes to foreign officials in more than 30 countries.  The case, one of the few FCPA prosecutions litigated in federal court, broke new ground regarding, most notably, the definition of the term “foreign official” as used in the FCPA.  After more than four years of litigation, Gibson Dunn secured a very favorable settlement with the DOJ, resulting in a sentence of only four months in custody.
  • Represented James Ruehlen, an executive of Noble Corporation whom the SEC charged in February 2012 with alleged FCPA violations arising from Noble’s alleged payment of monies to Nigerian customs officials.  Through its groundbreaking motion to dismiss the charges, Gibson Dunn succeeded in dramatically stripping down the SEC’s claims and setting a significantly higher standard of proof for trial.  This led to an eve-of-trial settlement in which the SEC did not impose a monetary penalty, require an admission of liability, or bar Mr. Ruehlen from working for a publicly traded company.
  • Representing numerous technology and telecommunications companies in FCPA investigations by the DOJ and SEC.
  • Representing companies in the consumer products, test and measurement, life sciences, water treatment, health care, telecommunications and advertising sectors in internal investigations regarding allegations of improper payments.
  • Representing a number of private equity firms in due diligence on prospective investments and leading the post-investment development of compliance policies and controls.
  • Serving as lead counsel for a multinational Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company in an FCPA investigation by the SEC and DOJ, which has included an FCPA compliance review of the company’s operations in multiple countries, including the entirety of its business units in China.
  • Representing a multinational nutrition products company in an FCPA investigation by the SEC and DOJ into conduct in China, which has involved advising the company on numerous aspects of its global anti-corruption compliance program.
  • Regularly conduct compliance training and compliance risk assessments for clients and their China-based portfolio companies and joint ventures.
  • Represented the controller of a large U.S. steel manufacturing and metals recycling corporation in an investigation involving alleged bribes to purchasing agents of government-owned steel mills in China.
  • Defended the CEO and chairman of a U.S.-listed Chinese “reverse merger” company in connection with an SEC inquiry and audit committee investigation.
  • Advised a Fortune 50 global retailer on FCPA issues specific to its retail operations in China, which was among several compliance-related engagements undertaken by Gibson Dunn for the company in the wake of FCPA allegations, including a comprehensive review of the investigative and ethics functions at the company.
  • Conducted a global risk assessment for a Fortune 50 retailer that included fieldwork in China, India and the company’s headquarters, in addition to compliance program and risk assessment advice.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Supreme Court Holds That Federal Bribery Law Applies Only To Quid Pro Quo Exchanges And Does Not Extend To After-the-Fact “Gratuities”

-June 26, 2024

FCPA Liability: Minimizing Third-Party Risk

-June 18, 2024

Best Lawyers in Germany 2025 Recognizes 23 Gibson Dunn Attorneys

-June 14, 2024

International Comparative Legal Guide to: Anti-Money Laundering 2024

-June 11, 2024

Gibson Dunn Earns 112 Top-Tier Rankings in Chambers USA 2024

-June 6, 2024

Webcast: 2023 Year-End FCPA Update

-February 29, 2024

2023 Year-End FCPA Update

-February 15, 2024

Webcast: FCPA Trends in the Emerging Markets

-January 23, 2024

Extraterritorial Impact of New UK Corporate Criminal Liability Laws

-January 12, 2024

Global Legal Insights – Bribery & Corruption 2024

-December 7, 2023

ESG And The Board: Avoiding Risky Business

-September 20, 2023

Expansion of Corporate Criminal Liability in the UK: Reform of the Identification Principle and New Offence of Failure to Prevent Fraud

-September 18, 2023

Webcast: Asia Compliance Risks and Mitigation Strategies

-August 15, 2023

EU Strengthens Cross-Border Access to E-Evidence in Criminal Proceedings

-August 1, 2023

Webcast: DOJ’s Consumer Protection Branch

-May 31, 2023

EU Commission Proposes Harmonized Framework to Combat Corruption

-May 15, 2023

Webcast: 2022 Year-End FCPA Update

-March 28, 2023

DOJ Updates Its Guidance on Corporate Compliance Programs

-March 14, 2023

2022 Year-End FCPA Update

-March 2, 2023

Webcast: FCPA Trends in the Emerging Markets

-January 17, 2023

2022 Mid-Year FCPA Update

-September 29, 2022

Webcast: FCPA Trends in the Emerging Markets of Asia

-September 27, 2022

Gibson Dunn Ranked in Legal 500 EMEA 2022

-April 12, 2022

Webcast: Corporate Compliance and Sentencing Guidelines

-March 30, 2022

FCA enforcement, one year into the Biden administration

-February 25, 2022

Webcast: FCPA 2021 Year-End Update

-February 1, 2022

2021 Year-End FCPA Update

-January 25, 2022

Webcast: FCPA Trends in the Emerging Markets of Asia, Russia, Latin America and Africa

-January 13, 2022

U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption Signals Focus on Enforcement

-December 13, 2021

Webcast: 2021 – Managing Internal Audit and Investigations

-November 9, 2021

Deputy Attorney General Announces Important Changes to DOJ’s Corporate Criminal Enforcement Policies

-October 29, 2021

China Constricts Sharing of In-Country Corporate and Personal Data Through New Legislation

-June 17, 2021

Big Changes Afoot for FCPA and Anti-Bribery Enforcement?

-June 14, 2021

Webcast: FCPA 2020 Year-End Update

-January 26, 2021

Webcast: FCPA Trends in the Emerging Markets of Asia, Russia, Latin America, India and Africa

-January 12, 2021

2020 Year-End FCPA Update

-January 12, 2021

2020 Mid-Year FCPA Update

-July 16, 2020

U.S. DOJ and SEC Issue First Comprehensive Update to FCPA Resource Guide Since 2012

-July 7, 2020

Gibson Dunn Earns 84 Top-Tier Rankings in Chambers USA 2020

-April 24, 2020

Gibson Dunn Earns 155 Rankings from Chambers Global 2020

-March 5, 2020

2019 Year-End German Law Update

-January 10, 2020

Developments in the Defense of Financial Institutions – The International Reach of the U.S. Money Laundering Statutes

-January 9, 2020

Webcast: FCPA Trends in the Emerging Markets of China, Russia, Latin America, India and Africa

-January 8, 2020

2019 Year-End FCPA Update

-January 6, 2020

Guralp Systems Limited – UK Serious Fraud Office’s Sixth Deferred Prosecution Agreement Results in No Penalty for Company. Tectonic Shift in DPAs or Factual Peculiarity?

-December 23, 2019

The UK Serious Fraud Office’s latest guidance on corporate co-operation – Great expectations fulfilled or left asking for more?

-September 10, 2019

Former Special Counsel Prosecutor Zainab Ahmad to Join Gibson Dunn as Partner in New York

-July 10, 2019

Updated DOJ Criminal Division Guidance on the “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs”

-May 3, 2019

Gibson Dunn Earns 79 Top-Tier Rankings in Chambers USA 2019

-April 25, 2019

F. Joseph Warin and Kevin Kelley Named Among Top Latin America Lawyers

-February 7, 2019

Webcast: FCPA Trends in the Emerging Markets of Asia, Russia, Latin America, and Africa

-January 8, 2019

2018 Year-End FCPA Update

-January 7, 2019

SFO Successfully Defends Challenge over the Territorial Scope of Compulsory Document Requests

-September 11, 2018

Amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988: Implications for Commercial Organizations Doing Business in India

-August 9, 2018

2018 Mid-Year FCPA Update

-July 9, 2018

Revisions to the FFIEC BSA/AML Manual to Include the New CDD Regulation

-June 14, 2018

Webcast: FCPA M&A: Identifying and Mitigating Anti-Corruption Risk In Cross-Border Transactions

-May 10, 2018

The Trump Administration Pulls the Plug on the Iran Nuclear Agreement

-May 9, 2018

FinCEN Issues FAQs on Customer Due Diligence Regulation

-April 23, 2018

Key 2017 Developments in Latin American Anti-Corruption Enforcement

-March 15, 2018

2017 Year-End United Kingdom White Collar Crime Update

-February 1, 2018

Webcast – Challenges in Compliance and Corporate Governance -14th Annual Briefing

-January 24, 2018

Webcast: FCPA Trends in the Emerging Markets of China, Russia, Latin America, India and Africa

-January 9, 2018

2017 Year-End FCPA Update

-January 2, 2018

40 Years Of FCPA: Cross-Border Efforts And Growing Risk

-December 12, 2017

Black and Grey: The EU Publishes Its Lists of Tax Havens

-December 7, 2017

Potential FCPA Liability for Third-Party Conduct

-November 17, 2017

UK Criminal Finances Act 2017: New Corporate Facilitation of Tax Evasion Offence – Act Now to Secure the Reasonable Prevention Procedures Defence

-September 29, 2017

2017 Mid-Year United Kingdom White Collar Crime Update

-July 18, 2017

2017 Mid-Year FCPA Update

-July 10, 2017

Mexico’s New General Law of Administrative Responsibility Targets Corrupt Activities by Corporate Entities

-June 22, 2017

Regional Risk Spotlight: Recent Developments in German Anti-Corruption Law

-March 29, 2017

Boletín de fin de año 2016 sobre la FCPA

-March 20, 2017

Analysis of March 6, 2017 Executive Order on Immigration

-March 7, 2017

French Legal Briefing – France Continues to Adopt the Highest International Standards to Attract Investors

-February 21, 2017

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Issues Opinion Upholding Nationwide TRO of January 27 Immigration-Related Executive Order

-February 10, 2017

New Sanctions Against Iran

-February 3, 2017

Recent Developments Regarding Executive Order on Immigration

-February 1, 2017

President Trump Issues Executive Order on Immigration

-January 30, 2017

Webcast: Challenges in Compliance and Corporate Governance

-January 25, 2017

2016 Year-End German Law Update

-January 13, 2017

2016 Year-End United Kingdom White Collar Crime Update

-January 11, 2017

Webcast: FCPA Trends in the Emerging Markets of China, Russia, India, Africa and Latin America

-January 10, 2017

2016 Year-End FCPA Update

-January 3, 2017

New French Anti-Corruption Regime

-November 10, 2016

Neue Korruptionsrisiken im Auslandseinsatz

-September 30, 2016

2016 Mid-Year United Kingdom White Collar Crime Update

-September 22, 2016

Evaluating U.S. Fraud and Abuse Compliance Controls, Including Corporate Integrity Agreement Provisions, for a Global Anti-Corruption Compliance Program

-August 1, 2016

2016 Mid-Year Update on Corporate Non-Prosecution Agreements (NPAs) and Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs)

-July 6, 2016

Beneficial Ownership and Customer Due Diligence:  Perspectives on the Increased Compliance Risk Associated with the Implementation of FinCEN’s Final Rule

-July 6, 2016

2016 Mid-Year FCPA Update

-July 5, 2016

United States Eases Myanmar (Burma) Sanctions in the Wake of Historic Democratic Reform

-May 20, 2016

FCPA Program Continues Focus on Individuals

-April 26, 2016

Webcast: FCPA Trends in the Emerging Markets of Asia, the Middle East and Africa

-March 8, 2016

Six Trends in 2015 FCPA Enforcement

-February 1, 2016

Webcast – Challenges in Compliance and Corporate Governance – 2016

-January 20, 2016

2015 Year-End FCPA Update

-January 4, 2016

Regional Risk Spotlight: Michael Farhang of Gibson Dunn Discusses Colombia’s Troubled Corruption History and Recent Reforms

-December 16, 2015

Serious Fraud Office v Standard Bank Plc: Deferred Prosecution Agreement

-December 3, 2015

Coerced Corporate Social Responsibility and the FCPA

-October 21, 2015

DOJ’s Newest Policy Pronouncement: the Hunt for Corporate Executives

-September 11, 2015

2015 Mid-Year FCPA Update: Part 2

-August 31, 2015

2015 Mid-Year FCPA Update: Part 1

-August 17, 2015

UK Briefing – US Anti-Corruption Legislation: Impact on UK and Non-US Corporate Life and Deal Making

-July 7, 2015

2015 Mid-Year FCPA Update

-July 6, 2015

Doing something to counter the “angst”

-March 5, 2015

2014 Year-End Update on Corporate Non-Prosecution Agreements and Deferred Prosecution Agreements (Part 1 – Westlaw Journal’s White-Collar Crime)

-March 2, 2015

Länderreport Russland: Zwei Schritte vor, einer zurück – Russische Polka bei der Umsetzung internationaler Anti-Korruptionsstandards (German language)

-March 2, 2015