July 28th, 2011
On Wednesday, the SEC announced a $16 million settlement in an FCPA case filed against Diageo, Inc. The company, which dominates the global liquor market, was accused of spending at least $2.7 million on bribes through its Asian subsidiaries, and omitting or mislabeling those funds in SEC filings. These bribes were given to government and military officials in South Korea, India, and Thailand in order to gain a variety of advantages, from tax breaks to more beneficial policies in transfer pricing negotiations. Bribes included trips to Europe, while one Thai bureaucrat received $12,000 a month for helping...
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July 21st, 2011
Tom Cardamone, Managing Director at Global Financial Integrity, continues his biweekly op-ed series with
TrustLaw. In today's column, he announced a forthcoming petition calling on legislators to help defend the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bans the bribery of foreign public officials.
Explaining the purpose of the petition, Mr. Cardamone writes:
"The petition, which is expected to be released in the next few days, is targeted at Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, who has said he will craft a bill that brings the law 'up to date.' Sensenbrenner chairs a subcommittee of the powerful House Judiciary Committee which convened a...
July 20th, 2011
The News Corp. phone-hacking and bribery scandal has developed quickly, every day bringing more stories of investigations, arrests, or
pie-wielding British comics. It's easy to get overwhelmed by the tide of details and lose track of the big issues. In the United States, the investigation has taken an interesting turn, casting a foul light on lobbying efforts to undermine American anti-bribery legislation.
On July 15, the Department of Justice confirmed an investigation into the News Corp. scandal. In addition to investigating up to 4,000 alleged incidents of phone hacking, it appears that News Corp. bribed British police officers....
