Avoiding “Contextual Compliance” in the Year of COVID and Beyond
“Despite 2020 being an unprecedented and challenging year for business, the government has not slowed down its record-breaking enforcement actions,” discuss Tiffany N. Bracewell, Abigail A. Hazlett and Christen Tuttle in Troutman Pepper’s Insights.
“In late October, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a $3.3 billion settlement with banking giant Goldman Sachs for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) — shattering Airbus SE’s $2.09 billion record breaker from only February. Goldman became the first American company to hold the top spot in more than a decade. Pursuant to a deferred prosecution agreement and a subsidiary’s guilty plea, Goldman admitted to using a third-party intermediary to bribe high-ranking government officials in Malaysia and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, ultimately resulting in $6.5 billion in underwriting business for the firm. Notably, that scheme was detected — and objected to — by Goldman’s compliance organization, to no avail.”
