Trends and Developments in Anti-Corruption Enforcement

Anti-corruption enforcement is at a crossroads. In many respects, global anti-corruption enforcement has never been more active. The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in 2016 collected a total of $2.41 billion through FCPA enforcement actions against 27 corporate defendants, including through their share of a record-setting $3.5 billion global resolution with Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht S.A. and its affiliate Braskem S.A., and a $515 million resolution with Teva Pharmaceuticals (the largest-ever FCPA resolution with a life sciences company). Those settlements are certainly noteworthy, but 2016 will be remembered for more than large-dollar resolutions. The Fraud Section of DOJ’s Criminal Division launched an FCPA Pilot Program to encourage voluntary disclosures and heightened cooperation; the U.S. announced several major coordinated, parallel enforcement actions with its foreign counterparts; and, perhaps reflecting a new trend, numerous individuals faced charges in the U.S. and abroad at the same time as settlements were reached with the relevant corporate entity.