Foreign Corrupt Practices Act News

There is a need for a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act lingua franca.  The absence of a lingua franca has all sorts of negative effects, including an impact on the quality of FCPA enforcement and related statistics.

Professor Koehler has already ably analyzed the Supreme Court’s recent statute of limitations decision against the SEC in Gabelli.  The Court’s opinion obviously was limited to the precise statute of limitations question before it, but I view it – perhaps with a generous helping of wishful thinking – as an encouraging sign that the justices may be ready, willing, and able to take on other troubling issues that arise as federal law enforcement agencies continue to blur the lines between traditional criminal prosecution and increasingly punitive “civil” prosecution.

Given the recent slew of negative press about the government's failure to prosecute executives for their alleged role in the 2008 financial crisis, it is unsurprising that the Justice Department is making high profile moves against big banks. However, the strategy the Justice Department is pursuing, as recently reported by Ben Protess of the New York Times' Deal Book, raises serious concerns.