TOP 10 FCPA Enforcement Actions, Disgraced Goldman Sachs Tops the List
Posted on 01/13/2021
Goldman Sachs has been a leader in investment banking league tables, but has also been the largest bank on Wall Street facing a major FCPA violation. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 is a United States federal law that prohibits U.S. citizens and entities from bribing foreign government officials to benefit their business interests. The FCPA is jointly enforced by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which apply criminal and civil penalties, respectively.
Many sovereign wealth funds, governments, and public funds continue to do business with these entities.
TOP 10 FCPA Enforcement Actions
| Rank | Company | Resolution Amount in USD | DOJ Portion | SEC Portion | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Goldman Sachs Group Inc. | 1,663,088,000 | 1,263,088,000 | 400,000,000 | 10/22/2020 | Other enforcement authorities in the U.K., Singapore, and Hong Kong fined Goldman Sachs. SEC required Goldman Sachs to pay a US$ 400 million civil penalty and disgorgement of US$ 606.3 million. Disgorgement amount was paid to the Malaysian government and 1MDB. |
| 2 | Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson | 1,060,570,432 | 520,650,432 | 539,920,000 | 12/6/2019 | |
| 3 | Mobile TeleSystems PJSC | 850,000,000 | 750,000,000 | 100,000,000 | 3/6/2019 | |
| 4 | Siemens AG | 800,000,000 | 450,000,000 | 350,000,000 | 12/15/2008 | FCPA resolutions were coordinated with a €395 million anti-corruption settlement with the Munich Public Prosecutor. |
| 5 | Alstom S.A. | 772,290,000 | 772,290,000 | 12/22/2014 | ||
| 6 | KBR (Halliburton) | 579,000,000 | 402,000,000 | 177,000,000 | 2/11/2009 | KBR, Inc. is an American engineering, procurement, and construction company, formerly a subsidiary of Halliburton. |
| 7 | Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. | 519,000,000 | 283,000,000 | 236,000,000 | 12/22/2016 | |
| 8 | Telia Company AB | 483,103,972 | 274,603,972 | 208,500,000 | 9/21/2017 | In total, U.S., Netherlands, and Sweden financial penalties is US$ 965.6 million. |
| 9 | Och-Ziff Capital Management Group | 412,000,000 | 213,000,000 | 199,000,000 | 9/29/2016 | Rebranded to Sculptor Capital Management. |
| 10 | BAE Systems | 400,000,000 | 400,000,000 | 2/14/2010 |