"Foreign Official" Limbo - The Bar Has Been Lowered

It's Friday, so let's get this started with some music.

The previous "limbo low" for an otherwise commercial enterprise to be deemed an "instrumentality" of a foreign government, and thus employees of the enterprise to be deemed "foreign officials" by the DOJ and SEC was 43%. See this prior post regarding the Alcatel-Lucent enforcement action and Telekom Malaysia Berhad - a commercial enterprise with a shareholder base of approximately 35,000 institutional and private/retail shareholders.

The limbo bar apparently has been lowered.

The recent Comverse enforcement (here) focused on "individuals connected to" "Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A. ["OTE"] - a telecommunications provider controlled and partially owned by the Greek Government" including "employees of OTE's subsidiaries Cosmote, Cosmofon, and Cosmorom, in order to obtain purchase orders from those companies."

According to the NPA, "the Greek Government was OTE's largest single shareholder and maintained an interest in over one-third of OTE's issued share capital."

Although the NPA only referenced knowing violations of the FCPA's books and records provisions (i.e. a "charge" that does not have a "foreign official" element) you can be sure that this enforcement action, notwithstanding the manner of resolution, was still very much about the "foreign officials" allegedly at issue. See, e.g., Miller & Chevalier FCPA Review Spring 2011 (here) ("Neither the SEC nor the DOJ identifies OTE as a government instrumentality, although the language used (identifying the Greek government as the largest single shareholder but not majority owner) suggests that they would have brought anti-bribery charges if there was evidence that CTI had knowledge of the payments or that Comverse Limited engaged in improper activity in the United States.").

The conduct at issue in the Comverse enforcement took place between 2003-2006.

Just what type of entity was OTE during this time period?

OTE's 2003 Annual Report (here) notes that the "Greek State" stake of total share capital was approximately 33.7%. The report notes that OTE's shares have traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 1998. The report states as follows. "The Greek State may no longer control OTE in a way different from that of any other Societe Anonyme company or telecom services provider. The Greek State may - only as a shareholder - monitor the operation and administration of the corporate affairs. The Greek State is represented by the Minister of Finance who is entitled to intervene according to the Articles of Association and the legal procedures as any other shareholder can do.

OTE's 2004 Annual Report (here) contains information similar to that noted above and states as follows. "The Greek State may no longer control OTE in a way different from that of any other Societe Anonyme and telecom services provider company. The Greek State may - only as a shareholder - monitor the operation and administration of the corporate affairs. The Greek State is represented by the Minister of Finance who is exercising its control through the established bodies as any other shareholder can do."

OTE's 2005 Annual Report (here) describes a shareholder structure as follows. International institutional shareholders 40%; Hellenic Republic 38.7%; Greek institutional shareholders 12.1%; Rest shareholders 9.2%.

OTE's 2006 Annual Report (here)describes a shareholder structure as follows. International institutional shareholders 45%; Hellenic Republic 38.7%; Greek institutional shareholders 9.5%; Rest shareholders 6.8%.

According to OTE's current website (here), it shares trade on the Athens Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange and OTE's ADRs trade on the OTC (over the counter) market in the U.S. and OTE continues to report to the SEC.

According to OTE's current website (here), its current shareholder base is as follows. Hellenic Republic: 20.0%; Deutsche Telekom: 30.0%; Greek Institutional Shareholders: 30.2%; International Institutional Shareholders: 9.7%; and Rest Shareholders: 10.1%.

Step aside 43%, the new limbo low is between 33% - 38%.

How long can it go?

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A good weekend to all.

Comverse Technology ... Is It Really That Simple?

Question: "If you did not have the choice of deferred or non prosecution agreements, what would happen to the number of FCPA settlements every year.

Answer by Mark Mendelsohn, former FCPA chief DOJ: "If the Department only had the option of bringing a criminal charge or declining to bring a case, you would certainly bring fewer cases."

Mark Mendelsohn on the Rise of FCPA Enforcement, 24 Corporate Crime Reporter 35, September 10, 2010.

"... [T]he S.E.C.’s practice of permitting defendants to neither admit nor deny the charges against them remains pervasive, presumably for no better reason than that it makes the settling of cases easier."

U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff (S.D.N.Y.) in SEC v. Vitesse Semiconducter Corp., March 21, 2010.

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A U.S. company has a subsidiary A.

Subsidiary A has a subsidiary - subsidiary B.

Subsidiary B engaged an agent who made improper payments partially facilitated by subsidiary's B's inflated commission payments to him.

There is no allegation that Subsidiary A knew about the payments.

There is no allegation that the U.S. company knew about the payments.

But subsidiary B's books, records and accounts are incorporated into the books, records and accounts of the U.S. company for purposes of financial reporting.

These are the essential facts from last week's FCPA enforcement action against Comverse Technology Inc. - "a world leader in multimedia telecommunications applications".

The enforcement action involved both a DOJ and SEC component. Total settlement amount was $2.8 million ($1.2 million criminal fine via a DOJ non prosecution agreement; $1.6 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest via a SEC settled complaint).

Is it really that simple?

Some have suggested that Comverse received "lenient" treatment (see here). Yet, it is questionable whether Comverse would have faced any criminal liability should the DOJ have been required to satisfy its high burden of proof in court.

Yet, FCPA enforcement actions like Comverse seem to be becoming norm.

DOJ

The DOJ enforcement action was resolved via a non-prosecution agreement, meaning there was not, and will never, be judiciary scrutiny of the DOJ's enforcement theory.

The NPA (here) begins as follows.

The DOJ "will not criminally prosecute Comverse Technology, Inc. ("CTI"), Comverse Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CTI ("Comverse Inc."), and the subsidiaries of Comverse Inc., including Comverse Ltd. (collectively referred to as Comverse) for any crimes ... related to Comverse's knowing violation of the books and records provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ... arising from and related to Comverse's failure accurately to record certain improper payments made by employees of Comverse Ltd. and certain subsidiaries of Comverse Ltd. and a third party agent from 2003 to 2006."

According to the NPA, Comverse Inc. was wholly-owned subsidiary of CTI and Comverse Ltd., an Israeli company based in Tel Aviv, was a wholly owned subsidiary of Comverse Inc.

The NPA has a term of two years and Comverse admitted, accepted, and acknowledged responsibility for the below described conduct. As is typical in FCPA NPAs or DPAs, Comverse agreed "not to make any public statement contradicting" the information below.

The conduct at issue focuses on monthly retainer fees paid by Comverse Ltd. to Agent G (an Israeli citizen engaged by Comverse Ltd. as an independent consultant with a particular focus on Greece) and commissions paid to Agent G on purchase orders. According to the NPA, "Agent G would keep 15% of the total commission, and the remaining 85% was used to make improper payments."

According to the NPA, "between 2003 and 2006, Comverse Ltd. made approximately $536,000 in cash payments to Corporation H [a Cyprus-based company created by Agent G at the direction of Comverse Ltd. employees to facilitate the payment of cash to representatives of certain Comverse Ltd. customers in exchange for securing purchase orders] with the intent that the money woudl be passed on to individuals connected to OTE, including employees of OTE's subsidiaries Cosmote, Cosmofon, and Cosmorom, in order to obtain purchase orders from those companies for Comverse Ltd. products and services, resulting in approximately $1.25 million in adjusted operating income."

OTE?

That would be the "Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A. - a telecommunications provider controlled and partially owned by the Greek Government." According to the NPA, "the Greek Government was OTE's largest single shareholder and maintained an interest in over one-third of OTE's issued share capital."

The DOJ agreed to resolve the enforcement action via a NPA "based, in part, on the following factors: (a) Comverse's timely, voluntary, and complete disclosure of the facts" [described above]; (b) Comverse's full cooperation with the Department and the [SEC]; and (c) the remedial efforts already undertaken and to be undertaken by Comverse."

The DOJ release (here) states as follows. "The [NPA] recognizes the company’s thorough self-investigation and the results of its investigation, voluntary disclosure of the underlying conduct, and full cooperation with the department. CTI has also undertaken extensive remedial efforts and overhauled its overall compliance culture, including through the implementation of mandatory training programs focused on anti-corruption and the use of third-party agents and intermediaries, as well as more rigorous accounting controls for the approval of third-party payments. As a result of these mitigating factors, the department has agreed not to prosecute CTI or its subsidiaries for failing to maintain accurate books and records, provided that CTI satisfies its obligations under the agreement for a period of two years. Those obligations include ongoing cooperation, payment of the $1.2 million penalty, and the continued implementation of rigorous internal controls."

SEC

The SEC's civil complaint (here) is based on the same core conduct described above.

The complaint alleges, in summary fashion, as follows.

"Between 2003 and 2006, Comverse Technology, Inc. (“Comverse”) violated the books and records and internal controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”) when its Israeli operating subsidiary, Comverse Limited (“Comverse Limited”), engaged in a scheme to make improper payments to obtain or retain business."

"In order to facilitate and conceal the payments, Comverse Limited employed a third-party agent (the “Agent”) to establish an offshore entity in Cyprus which, in turn, funneled the improper payments to Comverse Limited’s customers. Employees of Comverse Limited made payments to the Cyprus entity and, after taking 15% off the top of these payments, the Agent paid or facilitated the payment of the remaining 85% to Comverse Limited’s customers in the form of cash bribes."

"Comverse Limited did not accurately record these improper payments in its books and records, which, in turn, caused them to be improperly classified in Comverse’s consolidated financial statements. Comverse failed to devise and maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that transactions at all levels of the organization were recorded properly."

Specifically, the SEC alleged as follows.

"Between 2003 and 2006, Comverse Limited made improper payments to employees connected to OTE in order to obtain or retain business with OTE. The scheme originated in Comverse Limited's EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) sales division and the improper payments were inaccurately recorded on Comverse Limited's books and records, which, in turn, were consolidated with Comverse's financial results."

"Between 2003 and 2006, Comverse Limited, using [Corporation H], made improper payments totaling approximately $536,000 to individuals connected to OTE, including employees of OTE's subsidiaries Cosmote, Cosmofon, and Cosmorom to obtain or retain OTE's business. The improper payments resulted in $1.2 million of improper benefit to Comverse Limited, which flowed through to Comverse."

As to internal controls, the SEC alleged as follows. "During the relevant time period, neither Comverse nor Comverse Limited had a process, formal or otherwise, for conducting due diligence of third-party agents or for the independent review of third-party agent contracts outside of the sales departments." The SEC further alleged as follows. "At the time of the conduct, while Comverse did have an omnibus anti-corruption policy that prohibited improper payments to government-affiliated third parties and others, Comverse did not widely circulate this policy and provided no training on it to any employees."

As to books and records, the SEC alleged as follows. "Comverse Limited falsified its books and records by characterizing and recording the bribes as legitimate sales commissions, thereby failing accurately to reflect the payments and their purpose. These improper expenses, in turn, were consolidated into Comverse's financial records."

Based on the above conduct, the SEC charged Comverse with FCPA books and records and internal control violations.

As noted in the SEC release (here) without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, Comverse consented "to a conduct-based injunction that prohibits Comverse from having books and records that do not accurately reflect, or from having internal controls that do not prevent or detect, any illegal payments made to obtain or retain business." In addition, Comverse consented to pay $1,249,614 in disgorgement and $358,887 in prejudgment interest.

Daniel Horwitz (Lankler and Carragher - see here) represented Comverse.

The company's 8-K filing on April 7th stated as follows. " As originally disclosed by the Company on March 16, 2009, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company conducted its own internal investigation into such payments. The Audit Committee found that the conduct at issue did not involve the Company’s executive officers."

The company's 10-K filing on January 25, 2011 suggests that the company's internal investigation was prompted by a whistleblower complaint and the filing details the company's remedial actions in connection with the investigation. According to the filing "the Company recorded charges of $2.9 million associated with [the FCPA matter] during the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009." The company has not yet disclosed what its fees and expenses were during the fiscal year ended January 31, 2010.

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Another interesting item from Comverse's SEC filings. "For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2010, approximately one quarter of Verint's [Comverse's majority-owned publicly traded subsidiary] business was generated from contracts with various governments around the world, including federal, state, and local government agencies."

Johnson & Johnson Enforcement Action Focuses on Health Care Providers As "Foreign Officials"

That was quite the 72-hour period for FCPA enforcement last week. On Wednesday, it was JGC Corporation of Japan ($218.8 million in criminal fines). On Thursday, it was Comverse Technologies ($2.8 million in combined DOJ and SEC fines, penalties, and disgorgement). On Friday, it was Johnson & Johnson ($70 million in combined DOJ and SEC fines, penalties and disgorgement - plus approximately $7.9 million in a related U.K. Serious Fraud Office civil recovery).

This post analyzes the Johnson & Johnson enforcement action. Separate posts regarding the Comverse and JGC Corp. enforcement actions will follow later this week.

*****

Johnson & Johnson ("J&J), a global pharmaceutical, consumer product, and medical device company, resolved enforcement actions focused on business conduct in Greece, Poland, Romania. The enforcement actions also resolved an investigation of Johnson & Johnson subsidiary companies in the United Nations Oil for Food Program in Iraq.

The J&J enforcement action involved both a DOJ and SEC component. Total settlement amount was $70 million ($21.4 million criminal fine via a DOJ deferred prosecution agreement; $48.6 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest via a SEC settled complaint).

This post summarizes the DOJ, SEC and SFO enforcement actions.

DOJ

The DOJ enforcement action involved a criminal information (here) against DePuy Inc. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of J&J and a global manufacturer and supplier of orthopedic medical devices) resolved through a deferred prosecution agreement (here).

Criminal Information

The background section of the information begins as follows. "Greece has a national healthcare system wherein most Greek hospitals are publicly owned and operated. Health care providers who work at publicly-owned hospitals (“HCPs”) are government employees, providing health care services in their official capacities. Therefore, such HCPs in Greece are “foreign officials” as that term is defined in the FCPA."

The conduct at issue focuses on Depuy International. In 1998, J&J acquired DePuy, including its subsidiary Deputy International (a U.K. company).

According to the information, between 1998 through 2006, DePuy and others conspired to "secure lucrative business with hospitals in the Greek public health care system by making and promising to make corrupt payments of money and things of value to publicly-employed Greek HCPs."

The information alleges that "DePuy, its executives, employees, and subsidiaries agreed to sell products to Company X [an agent and distributor for DePuy and its subsidiaries in Greece until 2001 when it was acquired by DePuy and named DePuy Medec and later renamed DePuy Hellas] at a 35% discount, then paid 35% of sales by Company X to an off-shore account of Company Y [based in the Isle of Man and a consultant for DePuy International in Greece until 1999] in order to provide off-the-books funds to Agent A [a Greek national who was the beneficial owners of both Company X and Y] for the payment of cash incentives and other things of value to publicly-employed Greek HCPs to induce the purchase of DePuy products, while concealing the payments."

The information further alleges that "DePuy, its executives, employees, and subsidiaries agreed to pay Agent A and Agent B [a Greek national who acted as a consultant to DePuy International and DePuy Hellas] a percentage of the value of sales of DePuy products in Greece in order to provide funds to Agent A and Agent B for the payment of cash incentives and other things of value to publicly-employed Greek HCPs to induce the purchase of DePuy products, while concealing the payments."

The information further alleges that between 2002 and 2006 "approximately £500,000 was withdrawn by DePuy Hellas MD [a Greek National who was an employee of Company X until it was acquired by J&J when she became the Managing Director of DePuy Hellas] and others and used to cover payments owed to HCPs by the agents but not yet paid."

The information charges as follows. "In total, from 1998 to 2006, defendant DePuy, DePuy International, and their related subsidiaries and employees, authorized the payment, directly or indirectly, of approximately $16.4 million in cash incentives to publicly-employed Greek HCPs to induce the purchase of DePuy products. In order to conceal the payments, DePuy Hellas and DePuy International falsely recorded the payments in their books and records as “commissions.”"

As to a U.S. nexus, the information describes the following: certain phone calls made to Executive B (a U.S. citizen and officer and senior executive of DePuy) in Indiana to discuss the Company X acquisition and due diligence on Greek Agent A; e-mails sent to Executive B in Indiana regarding Agent A or Greek business in general; e-mails Executive A (a British citizen who was an officer and senior executive in charge of DePuy at the time it was purchased by J&J and who retained that position until 1999 when he became a senior executive at J&J retaining control of DePuy and its related operating companies) sent or received in New Jersey regarding Agent A.

Based on the above allegations, the information charges: (i) a conspiracy to violate the FCPA's anti-bribery and books and records provisions; and (ii) a substantive FCPA anti-bribery violation.

DPA

The DOJ's charges against DePuy were resolved via a deferred prosecution agreement (dated January 14, 2011) between the DOJ and J&J, its subsidiaries, and its operating companies "relating to illegal conduct committed by certain J&J operating companies and subsidiaries." In addition to DePuy Inc., other operating companies named are Cilag AG International and Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V.

Pursuant to the DPA, J&J admitted, accepted and acknowledged "that it is responsible for the acts of its officers, employees, and agents, and wholly-owned subsidiaries and operating companies" as set forth in a Statement of Facts attached to the DPA.

The term of the DPA is three years and it states that the DOJ entered into the agreement based on the following factors.

(a) J&J voluntarily and timely disclosed the majority of the misconduct described in the Information and Statement of Facts [Note - the Iraq Oil for Food conduct was not voluntarily disclosed];

(b) J&J conducted a thorough internal investigation of that misconduct;

(c) J&J reported all of its findings to the Department;

(d) J&J cooperated fully with the Department’s investigation of this matter;

(e) J&J has undertaken substantial remedial measures as contemplated by [the DPA];

(f) J&J has agreed to continue to cooperate with the Department in any investigation of the conduct of J&J and its directors, officers, employees, agents, consultants, subsidiaries, contractors, and subcontractors relating to violations of the FCPA and related statutes;

(g) J&J has cooperated and agreed to continue to cooperate with the SEC and, at the direction of the Department, foreign authorities investigating the conduct of J&J and its directors, officers, employees, agents, consultants, subsidiaries, contractors, and subcontractors relating to corrupt payments;

(h) J&J has cooperated and agreed to continue to cooperate with the
Department in the Department’s investigations of other companies and individuals in connection with business practices overseas in various markets;

"(i) J&J has also agreed to resolve related cases being investigated by the SEC and the United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office (the “SFO”); and

(j) Were the Department to initiate a prosecution of J&J or one of its operating companies and obtain a conviction, instead of entering into this Agreement to defer prosecution, J&J could be subject to exclusion from participation in federal health care programs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7(a).

With respect to the corporate compliance reporting obligations imposed on J&J by the DPA, the agreement states as follows.

(i) J&J has already engaged in significant remediation of the misconduct described in the Statement of Facts and reviewed and improved its compliance program and implementation thereof;

(ii) J&J conducted an extensive, global review of all of its operations to determine if there were problems elsewhere and has reported on any areas of concerns to the Department and the SEC;

(iii) J&J has and will undertake enhanced compliance obligations
described in [the DPA];

(iv) J&J’s cooperation during this investigation and its substantial assistance in investigations of others has been extraordinary; and

(v) J&J had a pre-existing compliance and ethics program that was effective and the majority of problematic operations globally resulted from insufficient implementation of the J&J compliance and ethics program in acquired companies."

As stated in the DPA, the fine range for the above described conduct under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines was $28.5 million to $57 million. Pursuant to the DPA, J&J agreed to pay a monetary penalty of $21.4 million (25% below the minimum amount suggested by the guidelines). The DPA states as follows. "J&J and the Department agree that this fine is appropriate given J&J’s voluntary and thorough disclosure of the misconduct at issue, the nature and extent of J&J’s cooperation in this matter, penalties related to the same conduct in the United Kingdom and Greece, J&J’s cooperation in the Department’s investigation of other companies, and J&J’s extraordinary remediation."

Pursuant to the DPA, J&J agreed to self-report to the DOJ "periodically, at no less than six-month intervals" during the term of the DPA "regarding remediation and implementation of the compliance measures" described in the DPA.

As is standard in FCPA DPAs, J&J agreed not to make any public statement "contradicting the acceptance of responsibility" by J&J as set forth in the DPA.

The Statement of Facts attached to the DPA include, in addition to the Greece conduct described above, conduct relating to Poland, Romania and in connection with the U.N. Oil for Food Program in Iraq.

Poland

As to Poland, the DPA states, in summary fashion as follows.

"Poland has a national healthcare system. Most Polish hospitals are owned and operated by the government and most Polish HCPs [health care providers] are government employees providing health care services in their official capacities. Therefore, most HCPs in Poland are “foreign officials” as defined by the FCPA."

"Polish hospitals purchase their medical products through a tender process, whereby suppliers of medical products compete for business by submitting bids to tender committees. Each tender committee may be associated with one or more hospitals."

"In general, the tender committees evaluate the competitive bids and select the winning supplier for each purchase. Because most Polish hospitals are government owned, the tender committees effectively determine, on behalf of the government, from whom the government will purchase medical products."

"J&J Poland [a wholly owned subsidiary of J&J] made payments and provided things of value to publicly-employed Polish HCPs, in the form of “civil contracts,” travel sponsorships, and donations of cash and equipment, to corruptly influence the decisions of HCPs on tender committees to purchase medical products from J&J Poland."

As to civil contracts, the DPA states as follows.

"J&J Poland engaged in professional services contracts with publicly-employed Polish HCPs, known as “civil contracts.” The contracts were purportedly for professional services including lecturing, leading workshops, and conducting clinical trials."

"J&J Poland did not require that its sales representatives provide proof that the work, for which payment had been made, was actually ever performed."

"From January 2000 until June 2006, J&J Poland awarded civil contracts to publicly-employed Polish HCPs to corruptly influence them, in their official capacities as members of tender committees, in order to induce those HCPs to select, or favorably influence the selection of, J&J Poland as the winning supplier in tender processes."

As to travel, the DPA states as follows.

"J&J Poland sponsored some publicly-employed Polish HCPs to attend conferences in order to corruptly influence them, in their official capacities as members of tender committees, in order to induce the HCPs to select, or favorably influence the selection of, J&J Poland as the winning supplier in tender processes."

As to "Total Improper Payments in Poland," the DPA states as follows.

"In total, from in or around 2000 to in or around 2007, J&J Poland and its employees authorized the payment, directly or indirectly, of approximately $775,000 in improper payments, including direct payments and travel, to publicly-employed Polish HCPs to induce the purchase of J&J products."

Romania

As to Romania, the DPA states as follows.

"The national healthcare system in Romania is almost entirely state-run. The healthcare system is funded by the National Health Care Insurance Fund (“CNAS”), to which employers and employees make mandatory contributions. Most Romanian hospitals are owned and operated by the government and most HCPs in Romania are government employees. Therefore, most HCPs in Romania are “foreign officials” as defined by the FCPA."

"From in or around 2005 through in or around 2008, J&J Romania [a wholly owned subsidary] employees made arrangements with J&J Romania distributors for the distributors, on behalf of J&J Romania, to provide cash payments and gifts to publicly-employed Romanian HCPs in exchange for prescribing certain pharmaceuticals manufactured by J&J subsidiaries and operating companies."

As to "Total Improper Payments in Romania," the DPA states as follows.

"In total, from in or around July 2005 to in or around mid-2008, J&J Romania and its employees authorized the payment, directly or indirectly, of approximately $140,000 in incentives to publicly-employed Romanian HCPs to induce the purchase of pharmaceuticals manufactured by J&J subsidiaries and operating companies."

Oil for Food Program

As to the U.N. Oil for Food Program, the DPA states as follows.

"Between in or around December 2000 and in or around March 2003, Janssen [a wholly-owned subsidiary of J&J headquarted in Belgium] and Cilag [a wholly-owned subsidiary of J&J headquartered in Switzerland] were awarded 18 contracts for the sale of pharmaceuticals to the Iraqi Ministry of Health State Company for Marketing Drugs and Medical Appliances (“Kimadia”) under the [Oil for Food Program], with a total contract value of approximately $9.9 million, which generated approximately $6.1 million in profits. Janssen and Cilag secured these contracts through the payment of approximately $857,387 in kickbacks to the government of Iraq."

"The kickbacks were paid to the government of Iraq through JC-Lebanon Agent [a Lebanese citizen who was an agent for both Janssen and Cilag in Iraq]. The kickbacks were concealed from the United Nations by inflating Janssen and Cilag’s contract prices by 10%."

The DPA concludes with a section titled "Books and Records" that states as follows.

"In order to conceal the payments to the Greek, Polish, and Romanian HCPs on the books and records of J&J and its subsidiaries, the payments were misrepresented as, among other things, “commissions,” “civil contracts,” “travel,” “donations,” and “discounts.”"

"In order to conceal the kickback payments made to the Iraqi government through JC-Lebanon Agent for contracts under the OFFP on the books and records of Janssen and Cilag, the payments were misrepresented as “commissions.”"

"At the end of J&J’s fiscal year from in or around 1998 to in or around 2007, the books and records of DePuy International, DePuy Hellas, J&J Poland, J&J Romania, Janssen, and Cilag, including those containing false characterizations of kickback and bribe payments given to the Iraqi government and Greek, Polish, and Romanian officials, were incorporated into the books and records of J&J for purposes of preparing J&J’s year-end financial statements, which were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission."

The DOJ's release (here) states as follows.

"Johnson & Johnson has admitted that its subsidiaries, employees and agents paid bribes to publicly-employed health care providers in Greece, Poland and Romania, and that kickbacks were paid on behalf of Johnson & Johnson subsidiary companies to the former government of Iraq under the United Nations Oil for Food program. Johnson & Johnson, however, has also cooperated extensively with the government and, as a result, has played an important role in identifying improper practices in the life sciences industry. As [the DPA] reflects, we are committed to holding corporations accountable for bribing foreign officials while, at the same time, giving meaningful credit to companies that self-report and cooperate with our investigations." "The agreement recognizes J&J’s timely voluntary disclosure, and thorough and wide-reaching self-investigation of the underlying conduct; the extraordinary cooperation provided by the company to the department, the SEC and multiple foreign enforcement authorities, including significant assistance in the industry-wide investigation; and the extensive remedial efforts and compliance improvements undertaken by the company. In addition, J&J received a reduction in its criminal fine as a result of its cooperation in the ongoing investigation of other companies and individuals, as outlined in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. J&J’s fine was also reduced in light of its anticipated resolution in the United Kingdom. Due to J&J’s pre-existing compliance and ethics programs, extensive remediation, and improvement of its compliance systems and internal controls, as well as the enhanced compliance undertakings included in the agreement, J&J was not required to retain a corporate monitor, but it must report to the department on implementation of its remediation and enhanced compliance efforts every six months for the duration of the agreement."

SEC

The SEC's civil complaint (here) is based on the same core set of facts contained in the above DPA and alleges, in summary, as follows.

"This matter concerns violations of the Foreign Conupt Practices Act by J&J as a result of the acts of its subsidiaries to obtain business for J&J's medical device and pharmaceutical segments."

"Since at least 1998 and continuing to early 2006, J&J's subsidiaries, employees and agents paid bribes to public doctors in Greece who selected J&J surgical implants for their patients. Further, J&J's subsidiaries and agents paid bribes to doctors
and public hospital administrators in Poland who awarded tenders to J&J from 2000 to 2006. J&J's subsidiaries and agents also paid bribes to public doctors in Romania to prescribe J&J pharmaceutical products from 2002 to 2007. Finally, J&J's subsidiaries and agent paid kickbacks to Iraq in order to obtain contracts under the United Nations Oil for Food Program ("Program") from 2000 to 2003."

As to Greece, the SEC complaint alleges as follows.

"One of J&J's product lines is surgical implants such as artificial knees, hips and other products that surgeons implant into patients. Surgical implants are a lucrative, but competitive business. In many countries, orthopedic surgeons control which implants they use."

"In 1998, J&J acquired another medical device company, DePuy Inc., a NYSE company. A top DePuy executive then went on to become a top J&J executive in the United States in J&J's medical device and diagnostics business ("Executive A"). At the time of the acquisition, DePuy was engaged in a widespread bribery scheme in Greece to sell its implants. Executive A and DPI executives knowingly continued that scheme. From 1998 to 2006, J&J earned $24,258,072 in profits on sales obtained through bribery."

The SEC complaint alleges that "J&J's internal audit group discovered the payments to Greek doctors in early 2006 after receiving a whistleblower complaint." According to the complaint, "the issue of payments to surgeons had been previously raised in an anonymous 2003 letter to a different internal audit team concerning a related J&J subsidiary in Greece ... however, that team concentrated their investigation on allegations about a possible conflict ofinterest by local management and J&J did not fully investigate the alleged payments to doctors."

As to Poland, the SEC complaint alleges as follows.

"Employees of ... a J&J subsidiary, bribed publicly-employed doctors and hospital administrators to obtain business. [Subsidiary] executives running three business lines oversaw the creation of sham contracts and travel documents and also the creation of slush funds as a means to funnel bribe payments to doctors and
administrators. From 2000 to 2006, J&J earned $4,348,000 in profit from its sales through the bribery."

"The bribery appears to have stopped when Polish prosecutors began to investigate payments to doctors."

As to travel issues, the SEC complaint alleges as follows.

"[Subsidiary] also paid for public doctors and hospital administrators to travel to medical conventions in Poland and abroad in order to influence tender committee decisions in their favor. Sponsored doctors were taken on trips in exchange for influencing the doctors' decisions to purchase J&J's medical products or to award hospital tenders to J&J. Some of the trips were to the United States for conferences. Some of the trips were to tourists areas in Europe, and some included spouses and family members to what amounted to vacations."

As to Romania, the SEC complaint alleges as follows.

"Employees of ... a J&J subsidiary, bribed publicly-employed doctors and pharmacists to prescribe J&J products that the company was actively promoting. The employees worked with [the subsidiary's] local distributors to deliver cash to publicly-employed doctors who ordered J&J drugs for their patients. [The subsidiary] also provided travel to certain doctors who agreed to prescribe J&J products. From 2000 to 2007, J&J earned $3,515,500 in profit from its sales through the bribery."

As to Iraq Oil for Food conduct, the SEC complaint alleges as follows.

"J&J participated in the Program through two of its subsidiaries, Cilag AG International and Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. (collectively "Janssen-Cilag"). During the program, Janssen-Cilag sold pharmaceuticals to an arm of the Iraqi Ministry of Health known as Kimadia. Janssen-Cilag conducted business with Kimadia in Iraq through a Lebanese agent (the "Agent"). The Agent's primary contact with the J&J companies was an area director at Janssen-Cilag's office in Lebanon."

"In total, secret kickback payments of approximately $857,387 were made in connection with nineteen Oil for Food contracts. The payments were made through the Agent to Iraqi controlled accounts in order to avoid detection by the U.N. The fee was effectively a bribe paid to the Iraqi regime, which were disguised on J&J's books and records by mischaracterizing the bribes as legitimate commissions."

"In order to generate funds to pay the bribes and to conceal those payments, Janssen-Cilag and its agent inflated the price of the contracts by at least ten percent before submitting them to the U.N. for approval. J&J's total profits on the contracts were $6,106,255."

Under the heading "Anti-Bribery Violations" the complaint alleges as follows.

"J&J, through its subsidiaries and agents, knowingly allowed its employees and third parties to pay Greek and Polish public doctors and public hospital administrators for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business."

"Executive A, a U.S. resident and a senior executive at J&J, approved the arrangements with the Greek Agent in Greece. Executive A and DPI executives knew that the Greek Agent was bribing Greek doctors. In addition, Polish doctors were bribed to use J&J products in return for trips. Use of the mails and interstate commerce was also used to facilitate the bribery schemes in both Greece and Poland."

Under the hearing "Failure to Maintain Its Books and Records" the complaint alleges as follows.

"J&J's subsidiaries made numerous illicit payments for the purpose of obtaining contracts in Iraq, Romania, Greece, and Poland. J&J's books and records did not reflect the true nature of those payments. For example, they did not record that a portion of its payments to the Greek and Iraqi agents constituted reimbursements for bribes, and they did not record the true terms of the civil contract payments to Polish doctors. Efforts were made to obscure the purpose of trips to the United States and abroad. Certain J&J subsidiaries created false contracts, invoices, and other documents to conceal the true business arrangement it had with its consultants and distributors to pay bribes. False travel documents were created, and petty cash was used to pay bribes. United Nations contracts were also falsified."

Under the heading "Failure to Maintain Adequate Internal Controls," the complaint alleges as follows.

"J&J failed to implement internal controls to detect or prevent bribery. The conduct was widespread in various markets, Greece, Poland, Romania, and Iraq. The conduct involved employees and managers of all levels. False documents were routinely created to conceal the bribery in each country."

"Rather than cease the bribery that was happening at DePuy prior to J&J's acquisition, J&J through its subsidiaries, employees and agents allowed the bribery to continue. They created sham businesses and entered into contracts that were merely
conduits to allow the bribery to flourish. They failed to conduct due diligence on the Greek Distributor. The Company also paid its consultant outside of Greece to avoid detection of bribery. The Company had two different J&J corporate entities make
payments to the Greek Agent to conceal the amount of money that was being funneled to
doctors as bribes."

"[Polish subsidiary] entered into fake civil contracts with Polish doctors and J&J also created false travel arrangements in Poland and Romania to create slush funds."

"Cilag and Janssen paid bribes to Iraq despite the fact that trade sanctions were in place against doing business in Iraq. Cilag and Janssen falsified their contracts with the United Nations to conceal the kickbacks being paid to Iraq."

Based on the above allegations, the SEC charged J&J with FCPA anti-bribery violations and FCPA books and records and internal control violations.

Without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, J&J agreed to an injunction prohibiting future FCPA violations and agreed to pay $38,227,826 in disgorgement and $10,438,490 in prejudgment interest.

The SEC's release (here) contains the following statement from Robert Kuzami (Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement): “The message in this and the SEC’s other FCPA cases is plain – any competitive advantage gained through corruption is a mirage. J&J chose profit margins over compliance with the law by acquiring a private company for the purpose of paying bribes, and using sham contracts, off-shore companies, and slush funds to cover its tracks.” In the release, Cheryl Scarboro (Chief of the SEC Enforcement Divisions FCPA Unit) stated as follows. “Bribes to public doctors can have a detrimental effect on the public health care systems that potentially pay more for products procured through greed and corruption.”

The SEC release states as follows.

"J&J voluntarily disclosed some of the violations by its employees and conducted a thorough internal investigation to determine the scope of the bribery and other violations, including proactive investigations in more than a dozen countries by both its internal auditors and outside counsel. J&J’s internal investigation and its ongoing compliance programs were essential in gathering facts regarding the full extent of J&J’s FCPA violations."

SFO

On the same day as the above U.S. enforcement actions, the U.K. SFO announced (here) a Civil Recovery Order against DePuy International Limited "in which DePuy International Limited will pay £4.829 million [approximately $7.9 million], plus prosecution costs, in recognition of unlawful conduct relating to the sale of orthopaedic products in Greece between 1998 and 2006."

According to the SFO release, the SFO "launched an investigation into the activities of DePuy International Limited in October 2007 following a referral from the DOJ." Richard Alderman, Director of the SFO, stated as follows. "When Johnson & Johnson reported the DePuy corruption, the DOJ informed the SFO of issues within our jurisdiction. We worked with the DOJ to find a solution that served both the interests of justice and the company's desire to put illegal activity behind it and move on. I believe the order approved [...] will illustrate to other companies how the SFO works closely with organisations across the world in enforcing the highest ethical standards, but is willing to engage and listen to companies that come to us with problems and help them find solutions."

The SFO release further states as follows. "On the facts of this case, criminal sanction of the Greek conduct has been achieved by the conclusion of a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with DePuy International Limited's parent company and the DOJ. The Director of the Serious Fraud Office has concluded that a prosecution was therefore prevented in this jurisdiction by the principles of double jeopardy. The underlying purpose of the rule against double jeopardy is to stop a defendant from being prosecuted twice for the same offence in different jurisdictions. The DOJ Deferred Prosecution Agreement has the legal character of a formally concluded prosecution and punishes the same conduct in Greece that had formed the basis of the Serious Fraud Office investigation. [...] Consequently the Serious Fraud office is satisfied that the most appropriate sanction is a Civil Recovery Order, under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002."

As highlighted in this prior post, in April 2010, former DePuy executive Robert Dougall pleaded guilty to conspiring with others "to make corrupt payments and/or give other inducements" to "medical professionals within the Greek state health care system" contrary to Section 1 of the UK Prevention of Corruption Act of 1906.

*****

Eric Dubelier (Reed Smith - see here - a former DOJ enforcement attorney) represented J&J.

J&J's press release (here) notes as follows. "In 2007, Johnson & Johnson voluntarily disclosed to the DOJ and the SEC that subsidiaries outside the United States were believed to have made improper payments in connection with the sale of medical devices. In the course of comprehensive compliance efforts and reports into the Company, similar issues in additional markets and businesses were identified and brought to the attention of the agencies." William Weldon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of J&J stated as follows. "More than four years ago, we went to the government to report improper payments and have taken full responsibility for these actions. We are deeply disappointed by the unacceptable conduct that led to these violations. We have undertaken significant changes since then to improve our compliance efforts, and we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure this does not occur again. I know that these actions are not representative of Johnson & Johnson employees around the world who do what is honest and right every day, in the conduct of our business and in service to patients and customers worldwide. We will continue to demonstrate that Johnson & Johnson is a company that embraces responsible corporate behavior."

Facilitating Payments or Bribes?

In Greece, it's the "little envelopes" that affect everyone from "hospital patients to fishmongers." (see here for the Wall Street Journal story).

In India, it's needing to "string up some wire and get licenses from the government" to start a "tiny business delivering telephone and Internet service" but "getting those things done without hassles require[s] a bribe." (see here for the story from National Public Radio).

In July 2009, Nature's Sunshine Products found out that it's about payments to Brazilian customs agents to import certain unregistered products into Brazil (see here).

Also in July 2009, Helmerich & Payne found out that it's about payments to various officials and representatives of the Argentine and Venezuelan customs services in connection with importation and exportation of goods and equipment (see here).

Numerous other examples abound.

Facilitating payments or bribes?

The FCPA has a specific exception for "facilitating or expediting payment[s] to a foreign official ... the purpose of which is to expedite or to secure the performance of a routine governmental action by a foreign official."

Where a facilitating payment ends and where a payment to "obtain or retain business" begins is a difficult question.

U.S. v. Kay, 359 F.3d 738 (5th Cir. 2004) is commonly viewed as answering that question.

However, Kay merely holds that Congress intended for the FCPA to apply broadly to payments intended to assist the payor, directly or indirectly, in obtaining or retaining business and that payments to a “foreign official” to reduce custom and tax liabilities can, under appropriate circumstances, fall within the statute. The Kay court empathically stated that not all such payments to a “foreign official” outside the context of directly securing a foreign government contract violate the FCPA; it merely held that such payments “could” violate the FCPA. The key question, according to Kay, is whether the payments at issue were intended to lower the company's costs of doing business enough to assist the company in obtaining or retaining business. The Kay court recognized that “there are bound to be circumstances” in which such attenuated payments merely increase the profitability of an existing profitable company and thus, presumably, do not assist the payer in obtaining or retaining business. In fact, the court specifically stated: “…if the government is correct that anytime operating costs are reduced the beneficiary of such advantage is assisted in getting or keeping business, the FCPA’s language that expresses the necessary element of assisting in obtaining or retaining business would be unnecessary, and thus surplusage – a conclusion that we are forbidden to reach.”

Post-Kay none of the above seems to matter much.

Because the Nature's Sunshine Products and Helmerich & Payne enforcement actions (as well as numerous other similar enforcement actions) were not challenged, it remains an open question whether the payments at issue in these cases, if subjected to judicial scrutiny, would satisfy the “obtain or retain business” element as interpreted in Kay or would be excepted as facilitating payments.

Many of these payments would appear attenuated to any specific cause-and-effect business nexus or otherwise would appear to have merely increased the profitability of an existing profitable business and, per the Kay holding, would presumably not satisfy this key FCPA antibribery element.

While some find facilitating payments to be a corrupt payment under a different name, the fact remains that the FCPA passed by Congress and signed by the President contains an express exception for facilitating payments.

It is this statute that the enforcement agencies are obligated to enforce and this express exception would certainly appear relevant to the above-described actions. Because these enforcement actions were not challenged, this obviously relevant defense was not explored in these cases and these post-Kay cases stand as de facto FCPA case law, notwithstanding the fact that the alleged conduct in these cases may have been excused because of the FCPA’s facilitating payment exception.

It's a complex world.

Congress recognized that when it passed the FCPA, including the facilitating payment exception.

The Kay court recognized that when concluding that not all such attenuated payments violate the FCPA.

A U.K. First

History was made in the U.K. today when Robert John Dougall, a former DePuy executive, pleaded guilty to conspiring with other "to make corrupt payments and/or give other inducements" to "medical professionals within the Greek state health care system" contrary to Section 1 of the UK Prevention of Corruption Act of 1906 (see here).

According to the SFO release (here) and media reports (here and here), Dougall, a former Director of Marketing with responsibility for business development in Greece, blew the whistle on others within the company thus becoming the "first 'co-operating defendant' in a major SFO corruption investigation."

According to the SFO release, DePuy made commission payments to a distributor "to induce or reward surgeons to use" DePuy products.

A SFO spokesperson said that Dougall's seniors "were clearly consenting and driving the [improper] activity" and Dougall reportedly told investigators that he considered the payments "distasteful" but that he didn't feel like he had any other choice.

Dougall was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. In sentencing Dougall, the judge rejected a joint suggestion by the SFO and the defense that he should be given a suspended sentence.

According to the SFO, Dougall is cooperating and providing substantial assistance in connection with the ongoing investigation. The case commenced following a referral to the SFO by the DOJ in October 2007.

Even though the charge Dougall pleaded guilty to does not contain a "foreign official" or "foreign public official" element, it is clear that the SFO is taking an expansive view as the recipients in this case were Greek surgeons. This is not surprising given that the SFO has stated its intention to model its enforcement on the DOJ's enforcement of the FCPA.

In November 2009, Assistant Attorney General Breuer, speaking before a pharma audience (see here), provided an expansive interpretation of the "foreign official" element in the context of the health care industry.

Dougall may be thinking, "what if I worked for BAE" or what if my name was "Count Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly"?

Why? (see here)

But then again, the "I was speeding just like the rest of traffic" has never been a good legal defense.

Dissecting Daimler

April Fool's Day is a day traditionally full of practical jokes and pranks.

Thus, it is only fitting that on April 1st U.S. District Court Richard Leon will hold a hearing on the Daimler FCPA enforcement action during which he is expected to approve a DOJ - Daimler brokered deferred prosecution agreement and other various aspects of the settlement discussed below.

If so, one pillar which contributes to the "facade of FCPA enforcement" (more on that in a future post) - bribery, yet no bribery - will have a new poster-child in addition to the Siemens and BAE bribery, yet no bribery FCPA enforcement actions (see here for prior Siemens posts and here for prior BAE posts).

At least, Siemens and BAE pleaded guilty to something - even if that something was not an FCPA antibribery charge.

The Daimler enforcement action appears to take the "facade" one step further in that Daimler will not have to plead guilty to anything ... zero ... zilch.

Rather, Daimler will agree to a deferred prosecution agreement despite clear evidence (per the DOJ's own allegations as set forth below) of FCPA antibribery violations.

One can legitimately ask, what did Innospec Inc. and Control Components, Inc. (two companies that recently pleaded guilty to FCPA antibribery violations) do that Daimler also didn't do?

Sure, two insignificant entities in Daimler's massive corporate hierarchy, Daimler Export and Trade Finance GmbH ("ETF") and DaimlerChrysler Automotive Russia SAO ("DCAR"), are expected to plead guilty to FCPA antibribery charges. EFT is a finance arm far down on Daimler's corporate hierarchy and DCAR sells spare parts for Daimler in Russia.

In other words, it sure looks and feels like two junior, indirect subsidiaries are being offered up as "sacrificial corporate lambs" to take the fall for the more significant, powerful parent.

The end result is that the DOJ can boast it secured two FCPA antibribery pleas while allowing Daimler to say that it never violated the FCPA's antibribery provisions, thus allowing Daimler to escape debarment in Europe - a factor clearly at issue in this enforcement action as highlighted below.

Yet another instance of bribery, yet no bribery is not the only reason why the Daimler enforcement action contributes to the facade of FCPA enforcement.

In addition, wrapped into allegations which clearly establish all the elements of an FCPA antibribery violation, are numerous dubious and untested theories of FCPA liability.

Most notably, the entire criminal information against DaimlerChrysler China Ltd. ("DCCL") is premised, as so many recent FCPA enforcement actions are, on employees of alleged Chinese state-owned entities (companies doing business all over the world and companies with publicly traded stock) being "foreign officials" under the FCPA. As in other FCPA enforcement actions, the allegations as to these entities are bare-bones, uninformative, and replete with legal conclusions as to why these entities are "instrumentalities" of a foreign government.

Because these dubious and untested theories of FCPA liability are embedded into the much larger bribery, yet no bribery charges against Daimler which are being resolved through a deferred prosecution agreement, these dubious and untested theories will once again escape judicial scrutiny.

Because of the general lack of substantive FCPA case law, the entire Daimler enforcement action (including theories of liability premised on the dubious and untested legal theories) will once again be viewed as de facto FCPA case law.

The Daimler bribery, yet no bribery enforcement action is wide in scope and allegations of improper conduct go all the way up to senior levels of the company. The "things of value" are numerous, the "foreign officials" include bona fide government officials (as well as the dubious "foreign officials" referenced above) and the amount of business allegedly obtained or retained through bribery and corruption is in the hundreds of millions.

The countries in which the payments were allegedly made are numerous (in fact, the label function at the bottom of this post only allows so many characters and I was unable to separately label each country in which the alleged improper payments occurred).

The alleged improper payments involved dozens and dozens of third parties, including several located in the U.S., which were allegedly utilized by Daimler and its affiliates to bribe foreign officials. Given Daimler's use of numerous U.S. based entities, it will be interesting to see if any of these U.S. entities and/or entity employees will be prosecuted for their role in the respective bribery schemes.

The Daimler bribery, yet no bribery case involves involves ineffective internal controls, lack of effective third-party due diligence, and intentional misrecording of bribe payments on Daimler's books and records (and those of its affiliates).

Yet in another interesting twist, Daimler also escapes criminal charges for knowingly failing to implement effective internal controls, even though the DOJ's own allegations would seem to support such a charge. (Even Siemens plead guilty to both criminal books and records and internal controls charges).

This a long post.

However, the more that is known about the Daimler FCPA enforcement action and the more that is understood about the facade of FCPA enforcement, the greater the chance the facade of FCPA enforcement will be exposed and addressed.

It all starts with the person standing between the DOJ and Daimler and that is Judge Richard Leon and he would be doing a great public service by rejecting the proposed settlement and injecting the "rule of law" into the current facade of FCPA enforcement.

This post details the Daimler criminal information, the Daimler deferred prosecution agreement, the three separate criminal informations against Daimler subsidiaries, and the DOJ omnibus sentencing memorandum.

The Daimler AG Bribery, Yet No Bribery Allegations

According to the criminal information (see here) filed against Daimler AG (and the Statement of Facts in the below described deferred prosecution agreement), the company "engaged in a long-standing practice of paying bribes to 'foreign officials' as that term is defined in the FCPA ... through a variety of mechanisms, including the use of corporate accounts [such as cash desks], offshore bank accounts, deceptive pricing arrangements, and third-party intermediaries."

In summary fashion, the information charges that "between 1998 and January 2008, Daimler made hundreds of improper payments worth tens of millions of dollars to foreign officials in at least 22 countries - including China, Croatia, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Latvia, Nigeria, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and others - to assist in securing contracts with government customers for the purchase of Daimler vehicles valued at hundreds of millions of dollars."

According to the information, "in some cases, Daimler wired these improper payments to U.S. bank accounts or to the foreign bank accounts of U.S. shell companies in order to transmit the bribe." The information alleges that "in at least one instance, a U.S. shell company was incorporated for the specific purpose of entering into a sham consulting agreement with Daimler in order to conceal improper payments routed through the shell company to foreign government officials." According to the information "certain improper payments even continued as late as January 2008." The information charges that "in all cases, Daimler improperly recorded these payments in its corporate books and records."

Despite being a German company, the information charges that "as a result of Daimler's filing of periodic reports with the SEC, and Daimler's use of U.S. bank accounts and U.S. companies in transacting certain business with foreign governments and officials, the company is subject to the FCPA."

According to the information, "Daimler's longstanding violations of the FCPA resulted from a variety of factors, including: (1) an inadequate compliance structure; (2) a highly decentralized system of selling vehicles through a myriad of foreign sales forces, subsidiaries, and affiliates, with no central oversight; (3) a corporate culture that tolerated and/or encouraged bribery; and (4) the involvement of certain key executives, such as the then head of its overseas sales division ("DCOS"), the then head of internal audit, and the then CEO's of several subsidiaries and affiliates."

According to the information, "in total, the corrupt transactions with a territorial connection to the United States resulted in over $50,000,000 in pre-tax profits for Daimler."

The information alleges improper conduct at the highest levels of the country. For instance, in 1999 during a Daimler "Board of Management meeting, Daimler's then head of internal audit proposed that the company adopt an integrity code that included anti-bribery provisions ..." However, the information charges that "participants in the meeting discussed that adopting such policies (and stopping the practice of making 'useful payments') would result in Daimler losing business in certain countries." Even though the company did adopt "an integrity code with anti-bribery provisions" at the meeting, the information charges that Daimler, among other things, "failed to make sufficient efforts to enforce the code, train employees on compliance with the FCPA or other applicable anti-bribery statutes" or "otherwise attempt to ensure that the company was not continuing to make improper payments in order to obtain or retain government business overseas."

Elsewhere, the information charges that "in or about 2000 or 2001" "Daimler's internal audit department was aware that Daimler employees had made and could make bribe payments" and that the department drafted a document identifying 14 separate improper payment mechanisms. According to the information, the same document noted that "payment of 'useful expenditures' through these methods was subject to criminal prosecution in countries such as the United States." However, the document also noted the "level of difficulty" law enforcement authories would have in "proving corruption carried out through the various methods."

The Daimler information, as to conduct in Russia, China, and Croatia, contains the same substantive allegations as set forth in the separate criminal informations against DCAR, ETF, and DCCL (described more fully below).

Vietnam

As to Vietnam, the information charges that "Daimler employees working at Mercedes Benz Vietnam ("MBV") made improper payments and provided gifts and other things of value to Vietnamese government officials in exchange for business from Vietnamese government owned and controlled customers." According to the information, "these improper payments were routinely paid to government officials through broker commissions" and the payments were "improperly categorized as broker commissions, cost of goods sold, and/or gifts" in MBV's books and records.

The information states that between "2000 and 2005, MBV was majority owned (70%) and controlled by Daimler through its subsidiary Daimler Benz Vietnam Investments Singapore Pte. Ltd., which Daimler wholly owned from June 30, 2003 through 2006." The information further states that "although a Vietnamese government entity, Saigon Auto Corp., was a minority owner (30%) of MBV" and that "MBV was managed primarily by German Daimler employees."

According to the information, the "foreign official" recipients of the improper payments included employees of Saigon Passenger Transport Company ("Saigon Bus") (see here), an alleged "instrumentality" of the Vietnamese government and "Vietnamese government officials in the Ministry of Public Security."

The information alleges that "MBV agreed to make the improper payments to the Saigon Bus official through" an account of Trading & Investment Houston, a U.S. based entity. The information also alleges that during negotiations of the Saigon Bus deal, "a Vietnamese government official with the government-owned Saigon High Tech Park suggested that MBV make a contribution [approximately $22 million over a five yeard period] to the high tech park as a condition of Daimler and MBV winning the business contract."

The information also alleges that in connection with the 2004 Asia Europe Meeting ("ASEM 5"), "Vietnamese government officials sought to obtain 78 Mercedes Benz passenger cars in order to transport officials attending the conference." According to the information, MBV "agreed to lend the vehicles to the Vietnamese government free of charge" and that in exchange "the Vietnamese government allowed MBV to import these 78 completely assembled passenger cars into Vietnam at a tariff rate of only 25%, when the standard tariff rate for completely assembled vehicles was 100%." According to the information, following the conference, when MBV sold the vehicles, it was thus able to make a "much higher profit, approximately €1.65 million, because of the lower tariff costs."

According to the information, "the making of [these] improper payments was known about and encouraged at the highest levels of the former MBV management."

Turkmenistan

As to Turkmenistan, the information alleges that Daimler, and its Vienna based distributor (IPC) delivered to high-level Turkmen government officials various gifts, including "an armored Mercedes Benz S-class passenger car, valued at more than €300,000 for his birthday." According to the information, "neither the Turkmen Government Official nor the Turkmen government paid for the vehicle" but that Daimler affiliate employees "agreed to provide this birthday gift to the Turkmen Government Official with the expectation that [Daimler] would receive large contracts for the purchase of vehicles by the Turkmenistan government in the coming year."

Nigeria

As to Nigeria, the information focuses on the conduct of Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company ("Anammco"), "a joint venture between Daimler and the Nigerian government" that Daimler utilized to sell vehicles into Nigeria. According to the information, "Daimler owned 40% of Anammco and controlled Anammco, inter alia, through Anammco's then managing director, who was a German expatriate and dual employee of both Daimler and Anammco."

According to the information, "Daimler entered into a contract to sell vehicles to the Nigerian State House, which was also known as the Nigerian Presidential Complex, and was the office and residence of the Nigerian President (the 'State House Contract') and that pursuant to this contract, Daimler charged "the State House approximately 21% over the wholesale price for the vehicles, parts, and services." According to the information, "in connection with these sales to the State House, Daimler made €1,427,242 in improper commission payments ... with the understanding that these funds would be passed on, in whole or in part, to Nigerian officials to secure the State House Contract."

The information also charges that Daimler made improper payments to high-level executive branch officials in Nigeria in connection with the State House Contract; that Anammco entered into contracts worth $4.6 million with Savannah Sugar Company Ltd. (an alleged instrumentality of the Nigerian government) to supply Daimler vehicles, spare parts, and tools on which approximately €554,396 in "consultant" payments were made; and that "Daimler entered into a contract with the Nigerian Police Force" in which Anammco requested that Daimler make payment to a member of the Nigerian Police Force in his German bank account.

The information also alleges that Daimler made various payments to Nigerian government officials in connection with selling "54 buses to the Nigerian Ministry of Industry" to provide transport for the World Youth Championship games held in Nigeria. The informatin further alleges that Anammco agreed to provide $500,000 in support of the "All-Africa Games" and that Anammco supplied numerous vehicles for the games, but that the Nigeria organizing committee for the games did not pay for the vehicles.

Finally, the information charges that Daimler's wholly-owned subsidiary in Brazil utilized the services of an entity owned by a senior Nigerian diplomat in Brazil and his wife to help facilitate the sale of buses to a Nigerian state and that approximately $60,000 in commission payments were paid to the Nigerian diplomat.

Ivory Coast / West Africa

As to the Ivory Coast and West Africa, the information states that "from at least 1992 to 2007, Daimler sold passenger cars in the Ivory Coast and other West African countries through its majority owned (89%) and controlled subsidiary, Star Auto S.A. ("Star Auto")" and that Star Auto made direct sales of Daimler passenger cars to various government customers in West Africa, including government ministries, the military, and government agencies, including for use by diplomats and heads of state." In connection with these sales, Daimler employees "authorized and made improper payments to government officials at its customers in the Ivory Coast and elsewhere in West Afria..."

Among other conduct, the information alleges that commission payments were made to an entity that would pass on, in whole or in part, the payments to Ghanaian Army officials in connection with a contract to sell trucks to the Army of Ghana, and that Daimler, to assist in securing a contract to provide trucks to an Indonesian firm operating a logging project in Liberia, "gave a then senior executive branch official of Liberia a gift of an armored Mercedes passenger car worth approximately €267,000."

Latvia

As to Latvia, the information charges that EvoBus GmbH ("EvoBus"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler and part of a Daimler business unit called Daimler Buses, paid approximately €1,800,000 in 'commision' payments to third parties with the understanding that such improper payments would be passed on, in whole or in part, to Latvian government officials to influnce the award of contracts to EvoBus." According to the information, the contracts were awarded by the Riga City Council Traffic Department and EvoBus paid bribes to members of the Riga City Council. To make these "commission payments and to disguise their true nature and purpose" the information charges that "EvoBus entered into sham consulting contracts with, among others, two U.S. based entities: Oldenburgh Financial Corporation, incorporated in Delaware, and United Petrol Group LLP, incorporated in Oregon."

Austria / Hungary

As to Austria and Hungary, the information charges that, to help facilitate the sale of 32 used buses to a state-owned regional public transport company in Hungary, EvoBus Austria GmbH agreed to pay a "commission of €333,370 to a U.S. based corporation called USCON Ltd. with the understanding that the payment would be passed on, in whole or in part, to Hungarian government officials."

Turkey

As to Turkey, the information charges that Daimler's Corporate Audit Department "discovered three binders located in a safe at MB Turk's [a Daimler subsidiary in Turkey] offices in Istabul" that, along with other evidence, demonstrated that "MB Turk made approximately €6.05 million in payments to third parties in connection with vehicle export transactions that involved the sale of vehicles to non-Turkish government customers in North Korea, Latvia, Bulgaria, Libya, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and other countries in deals with revenues of approximately €95 million." According to the information, at least €3.88 million of the €6.05 million comprised of "improper payments and gifts [...] paid to foreign government officials or to third parties with the understanding that the payments and gifts would be passed on, in whole or in part, to foreign government officials to assist in securing the sale of Daimler vehicles to government customers."

Indonesia

As to Indonesia, the information charges that "Daimler's local affiliates provides gifts, travel and entertainment to government officials associated with Perum Damri in order to secure business." According to the information, Perum Damri (see here) is a "state-owned bus company" and an "instrumenality of the Indonesian government" thus making its employees "foreign officials" under the FCPA. The information alleges that between 1998 and 2005, "Daimler's local affiliates spent approximately $41,000 on such gifts, including golf clubs, wedding gifts for the children of a senior offical at Perum Damri, golf outings for Perum Damri officials, and gifts that were raffled off to low-level employees on the occasion of Perum Damri's anniversary. According to the information, Perum Damri purchased approximately $8.36 million worth of buses from Daimler's Indonesian affiliates. The information also alleges that "Daimler's local affiliates also made several large cash payments to tax officials in Indonesia for the purpose of reducing their tax obligations."

Iraq

As to Iraq, the information charges, what has become, standard Iraqi Oil for Food Program allegations in that Daimler "agreed to pay a 10% commission to the government of Iraq in connection with sales of its vehicles under the [Oil for Food Program]." Yet in a twist, the information states certain sales between "Daimler and the Iraqi government were prepared, negotiated and finalized by employees at Daimler's headquarters in Germany" and that "Daimler negotiated its [Oil for Food Contracts] directly with the government of Iraq." (In many of the prior Oil for Food cases, the Iraqi government contracts were prepared, negotiated, and finalized primarily by third-party agents retained by the offending company). When third party agents were used by Daimler to make sales to the Iraqi government, the information charges that Daimler executives "understood that Daimler's contract partners would pay illegal kickbacks to Iraqi ministries."

After this laundry list of bribes in several differnt countries, the information then alleges that "prior to 2005, Daimler's anti-bribery compliance program was inadequate." Among other things, the information alleges that Daimler had "inadequate guidelines and controls concerning the disbursement of cash from cash desks;" inadequate controls over other corporate accounts; "inadequate controls over the opening and maintaining of bank accounts;" "inadequate controls over the selection, use, and making of payments to agents and intermediaries;" and "inadequate training of Daimler employees on FCPA or other anti-bribery compliance."

Against this backdrop, one might assume that Daimler was charged with FCPA antibribery violations - which generally prohibit the payment of money or anything of value, to a foreign official, in order to obtain or retain business.

However, in this current facade era of FCPA enforcement, nothing can be taken for granted and the Daimler enforcement action is yet another instance of bribery, yet no bribery, as Daimler was merely charged with two counts: (i) conspiracy to violate the FCPA's books and records provisions; and (ii) knowingly falsifying books, records, and accounts - a criminal charge under 78m(b)(5).

Even more troubling, Daimler will not even by pleading guilty to these charges, because the charges are being resolved through a deferred prosecution agreement ("DPA").

Daimler AG's Deferred Prosecution Agreement

The DPA (see here) is a fairly standard FCPA DPA in that in return for the DOJ deferring prosecution of the criminal charges against Daimler, Daimler "admits, accepts, and acknowledges that is is responsible for the acts of its employees, subsidiaries, and agents" as set forth above. As is common, Daimler also agrees to a host of compliance undertakings, including hiring an independent monitor for a three year period (an issue discussed in this prior post).

The term of the DPA is an unusual two years and seven months after the guilty pleas of ETF and DCAR (most FCPA NPAs or DPAs are for whole year terms). Also unusual is that the DPA states that if the DOJ finds "in its sole discretion, that there exists a change in circustances sufficient to eliminate the need for the corporate compliance monitor ... and that other provisions of [the DPA] have been satisfied, the Term of the Agreement may be terminated early."

Like other NPAs and DPAs, the Daimler DPA essentially muzzles Daimler, its directors, its employees, and agents, from making "any public statement ... contradicting the acceptance of responsibility by Daimler" for the facts set forth in the charging documents. In this way, DOJ is able to insulate itself from criticism from the only other party besides DOJ (i.e. Daimler) that actually knows the precise facts and issues relevant to the charged conduct. Specifically, if Daimler wants to issue a press release relevant to this case, it must first get DOJ's approval.

The DPA also states: "with respect to Daimler's present reliability and responsibility as a government contractor, the Department agrees to cooperate with Daimler, in a form and manner to be agreed, in bringing facts relating to the nature of the conduct underlying this Agreement and to Daimler's cooperation and remediation to the attention of governmental and other debarment authorities, including Multinational Development Banks, as requested."

Thus, as in the BAE and Siemens bribery, yet no bribery enforcement actions, debarment seems to have been a key factor in selecting the actual charges against Daimler - a fact confirmed by the DOJ's sentencing memorandum described below.

Daimler Export and Trade Finance GmbH and the Croatian Firetrucks

DOJ also filed a two count criminal information against Daimler Export and Trade Finance GmbH ("ETF") which is described as wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler Financial Services AG ("DFS"), which in turn is described as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler AG. According to the information, "ETF specialized in the structuring and arranging of customized financing solutions for exports by Daimler and external customers to countries without a local DFS company." "In addition," the information charges that "ETF participated in business ventures outside of Daimler's core businesses of the manufacture and sale of passenger cars and vehicles."

The charged conduct involves selling fire trucks to the Croatian Ministry of the Interior ("MOI") as well as the conduct of IM Metal ("IMM") an alleged "Croatian government controlled and partially owned former weapons manufacturer." The information charges that "IMM was an 'instrumentality' of the Croatian government, and executives employed by IMM, or their designess were 'foreign officials' as those terms are used in the FCPA ..." The charged conduct also involves Biotop Group, Inc. ("Biotop"), a Delaware corporation and Marketing Research and Consultants LLC ("MRC"), a Wyoming corporation.

Count one of the information charges conspiracy and alleges that "from in or about 2002, through in or about January 2008" ETF, and others were engaged in a conspiracy to "make improper payments to Croatian government officials to induce them to cause the Croatian government agencies and instrumentalities to purchase Daimler vehicles."

Among other things, the information charges that:

prior to be awarded a €85 million fire truck contract, "ETF understood that improper payments to Croatian government officials would be required in order to secure the Fire Truck Contract from the Croatian MOI;"

"ETF made improper payments directly to Croatian government officials and to third parties with the understanding that the payments would be passed on, in whole or in part, to Croatian government officials to assist in the Fire Truck Contract;"

"between 2002 and January 2008, ETF made approximately €3.02 million in payments to IMM and/or its principles in connection with the contract to sell fire trucks to the Croatian MOI with the understanding that all or a portion of the funds were paid to IMM's employees, themselves foreign government officials, and that another portion of the funds were paid to Croatian government officials outside IMM in exchange for assistance in securing for the ETF-led consortium the Fire Truck Contract;" and

"in total, between 2002 and January 2008, ETF made approximately €1,673,349 in improper payments to Biotop and MRC in connection with the Fire Truck Contract with the understanding that those payments would be passed on, in whole or in part, to Croatian government officials" and that "neither Biotop nor MRC performed legitimate services for ETF sufficient to warrant payments in those amounts."

The information alleges that "ETF entered into a sham consulting contract with Biotop in order to conceal the nature of improper payments ETF made to Biotop, and with the understanding that these funds would be passed on, in whole or in part, to Croatian government officials to assist in securing the Fire Trucks Contract with the Croatian MOI." As to MRC, the information alleges that "six days after MRC's incorporation, ETF executed a written consulting contract with MRC in order to conceal the nature of improper payments being made to MRC, with the understanding that the payments to MRC would be passed on, in whole or in part, to Croatian government officials."

Count two of the information charges an FCPA antibribery violation. Because ETF is a foreign entity, the applicable section of the statute is 78dd-3 which requries a U.S. nexus. The information charges "ETF entered into sham consulting contracts with shell companies incorporated in Delaware and Wyoming for the purpose of making improper payments to Croatian government officials, and made payments to those companies' accounts outside the United States with the understanding that such payments would be passed on, in whole or in part, to Croatian government officials."

Because the information charges that ETF's payments to Biotop and MRC were to the companies' accounts "outside the United States" it appears that the sole U.S. nexus DOJ is using to charge ETF with an FCPA antibribery is the act of entering into a contract with a U.S. company.

DaimlerChrysler China Ltd. and the Chinese "Foreign Officials"

DOJ also filed a two count criminal information against DaimlerChrysler China Ltd. ("DCCL"), a "Beijing-based, wholly-owned Daimler subsidiary and cost center that managed Daimler's business relationships in [China], assisted Daimler in selecting and managing joint ventures in China, and helped manage Daimler's expatriate employees in China." According to the information, "although DCCL did not itself sell any vehicles directly into China, certain DCCL employees assisted with the sale of vehicles by various Daimler divisions in Germany to government customers in China."

The charged conduct focuses solely on three Chinese state-owned entities the DOJ alleges are "instrumentalities" of the Chinese government.

First, the DOJ alleges that "The Bureau of Geophysical Prospecting ("BGP") was a division of the China National Petroleum Corporation ("CNPC"), a Chinese state-owned oil company" and that "among other things, BGP was involved in searching for oil in various regions of China" and that "BGP was an 'instrumentality' of the Chinese government, and individuals employed by BGP were 'foreign officials'" under the FCPA. According to its website (see here), BGP is a limited liability company and it has "forty overseas branches and offices have been established in Asia, America, Africa and the Middle East" (see here). According to its website (here), CNPC " is China's largest oil and gas producer and supplier, as well as one of the world's major oilfield service providers and a globally reputed contractor in engineering construction" and it has "a presence in almost 70 countries." CNPC's corporate hierachy (here) looks similar to other commercial enterprises and one of CNPC's largest holdings is PetroChina, an entity with shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange as well as other exchanges (see here).

Second, the DOJ alleges that "Sinopec Corp. ("Sinopec") was a Chinese state-owned energy company involved in, among other things, exploration and production of petroleum and natural gas, as well as the refining and sale of petroleum products" and that "Sinopec was an 'instrumenality' of the Chinese government, and individuals employed by Sinopec were 'foreign officials'" under the FCPA. According to its website (here) Sinopec is "a listed company on domestic and international stock exchanges" and it has shares traded in Shanghai, Hong Kong, New York and London.

Third, the DOJ alleges that "Changqing Petroleum Exploration Bureau ("Changqing") was a Chinese state-owned oil and natural gas extracting company" and that "Changqing was an 'instrumentality' of the Chinese government and individuals employed by Changqing were 'foreign official'" under the FCPA. Changqing is an entity within CNPC's extensive organization.

According to the information, "between 2000 and 2005, DCCL employees and/or Daimler employees through DCCL made at least €4,173,944 in improper payments in the form of 'commissions,' delegation travel, and gifts for the benefit of Chinese government officials and their designees, in connection with over €112,357,719 in sales" of vehicles to Chinese government customers. The information alleges that "these sales to Chinese government customers were made directly from Daimler's [divisions] in Germany through various intermediaries with the assistance of DCCL employees in the commercial vehicles division."

According to the information, "to make improper payments to Chinese government officials, Daimler and DCCL typically inflated the sales price of vehicles sold to Chinese government customers and then maintained the overpayments in debtor accounts on Daimler's books and records, including one debtor account called the 'special commissions' account." The information alleges that "DCCL employees, including its then head of sales and marketing disbursed payments" from the account and "at the time, no checks or policies were in place to ensure the legitimacy or appropriateness of such payments."

According to the information, "DCCL and Daimler also employed agents to assist in securing" vehicles from Chinese government customers, but that "neither DCCL nor Daimler performed due diligence on these agents, and there were inadequate controls in place to ensure that payments made to these agents were not passed on to Chinese government officials and their designees." The information states that "the agency agreements were often not in writing" and that "DCCL and Daimler lacked adequate oversight into the appropriateness or purpose of payments from debtor accounts that ultimately went to government officials in China and their designees." The information charges that "finance and controls oversight was so lacking with respect to Daimler's sale of commercial vehicles in China that DCCL's Sales and Marketing Head was able to remove at least approximately €230,000 from a company debtor account without detection, and then direct those funds to the offshore bank account of his wife."

Count one of the information charges conspiracy and alleges that DCCL, and others, were engaged in a conspiracy to "make improper payments to Chinese government officials to induce them to cause Chinese government agencies and instrumenalties to purchase Daimler vehicles."

Among other things, the information charges that:

"in total, Daimler and DCCL made approximately €2,599,694 in improper payments to Chinese government officials associated with these entities to assist in obtaining sales worth approximately €71,562,882;"

"between 2001 and 2004, DCCL and Daimler at the direction of Chinese government officials made improper payments totaling at least €188,840 into U.S. bank accounts belonging to third parties to obtain contracts valued at €5,533,381 for the sale of vehicles to Chinese government customers "even though no part of the transaction involved the U.S., nor were the entities that nominally controlled the bank accounts parties to any of these transactions;" that "DCCL and Daimler did not perform any due diligence to discern who the recipients were" and the "corporate entities that received the payments from Daimler for the benefit of the Chinese government officials performed no legitimate services for DCCL or Daimler and did nothing to earn those payments;"

"between 1998 and 2005, DCCL and Daimler also provided at least €268,568 worth of delegation trips to employees of its government customers in China for the purpose of assisting in securing business from those customers;" according to the information "agents working as intermediaries between DCCL and Daimler, on the one hand, and its Chinese government customers, on the other hand, typically requested the delegation trips up front during the contract negotiation process on behalf of the customer involved" that "DCCL and Daimler then estimated the cost of the trip and increased the purchase price of vehicles accordingly" and that "some contracts characterized these trips as 'factory inspection trips' even though the trips were primarily visits to tourist locations."

In furtherance of this conspiracy, the information identifies several agents used to make the improper payments including: M.F. Mechanical & Electrical; Shores International (a Texas corporation); Lily Energy Services, Inc. (a Texas corporation); King Jack, Inc. (a California corporation); and Chinese Agent A.

Additional payments charged in the information include: "€155,905 for the purpose of entertaining executives at" BGP and Sinopec; "payments totaling approximately €56,400 into accounts at multiple banks to an individual associated with an official at BGP in charge of operations in another country;" "a payment of approximately €14,800 to a relative of a Chinese government official associated with BGP in connection with the sale of commercial vehicles to BGP; "payments totaling approximately €30,000 in commissions for 'market research' to the Stuttgart bank account of the son of an official of BGP;" and "a payment of approximately €57,000 to the wife of a Chinese government official employed at Sinopec" disguised as a payment pursuant to a "phony consulting agreement with the wife of the Chinese government official."

The information further charges a laundry list of "things of value" provided "to the son of a Chinese government official who made purchasing decisions for BGP in order to assist in securing business from BGP" including: interships at Daimler for his girlfriend; "letters from a former Daimler employee to German immigration officials to assist him and his girlfriend with their efforts to obtain student visas;" "€2,224 in expenses to attend a truck race;" "use of a Mercedes passenger car for a period of time;" and "employment at Daimler" for a five month period "with a monthly salary of €600."

Count two of the information charges an FCPA antibribery violation. Because DCCL is a foreign entity, the applicable section of the statute is 78dd-3 which requires a U.S. nexus. As relevant to this issue, the information charges that "DCCL caused wire transfers to be sent from Daimler accounts in Germany to financial institutions in the United States."

DaimlerChrysler Automotive Russia SAO and Russian Sales

DOJ also filed a two count criminal information against DaimlerChrysler Automotive Russia SAO ("DCAR"), a "Moscow-based, wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler" that "sold Daimler spare parts, assisted with the sale of vehicles from various Daimler divisions in Germany, including in particular its overseas sales division ("DCOS"), to government customers in [Russia], and also imported Daimler passenger and commercial vehicles into Russia for sale to customers and distributors."

The charged conduct focuses on Daimler's, DCAR's and DCOS's relationships with: "the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs ("MVD") a department and agency of the Russian government principally responsible for police, militia, immigration and other functions" including supervising the "Russian traffic police; "the Special Purpose Garage ("SPG") an 'instrumenality' of the Russian government" whose employees were "foreign officials" under the FCPA; "Machinoimport a Russian government-owned and controlled purchasing agent for the City of Moscow," an "instrumentality of the Russian government" whose employees were "foreign officials" under the FCPA; and "Dorinvest a Russian government-owned and controlled purchasing agent for the City of Moscow," an "instrumentality of the Russian government" whose employees were "foreign officials" under the FCPA.

According to the information, "Daimler's business in Russia was substantial." The information states that "Daimler sold passenger cars and commercial vehicles directly from its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, to its Russian government clients with the assistance of DCAR and Daimler's representative office in Moscow" and that "Daimler carried out such sales from DCOS and DCAR acting as an agent to assist with such direct sales."

The information charges that "Daimler, through DCAR, made improper payments at the request of Russian government officials or their designess in order to secure business from Russian government customers." According to the information, payments were "made with the knowledge and involvement of the former senior management of DCAR and DCOS."

The information states that "DCAR and Daimler sometimes made improper payments to government officials in Russia to secure business by over-invoicing the customer and paying the excess amount back to the government officials, or to other designated third parties that provided no legitimate services to Daimler or DCAR, with the understanding that such payments would be passed on, in whole or in part, to Russian government officials." The information further states that "when requested, Daimler employees wired and authorized the wiring of payments from Daimler's bank accounts in Germany to, among other destinations, U.S. and Latvian bank accounts beneficially owned by shell companies with the understanding that the money, in whole or in part, was for the benefit of Russian government officials."

Count one of the information charges conspiracy and that DCAR, and others, were engaged in a conspiracy to "make improper payments to Russian government officials to induce them to cause Russian government agencies and instrumentalties to purchase Daimler vehicles."

Among other things, the information charges that:

"between 2000 and 2005" Daimler's sale of vehicles to Russian government customers was approximately "€64,660,000" and that "in connection with these vehicle sales, DCAR and Daimler made over €3 million in improper payments to Russian government officials employed at their Russian governmental customers, their designess, or to third-party shell companies that provided no legitimate services to Daimler or DCAR with the understanding that the funds would be passed on, in whole or in part, to Russian government officials."

According to the information, the payments were routed all over the world including: "to the Deutsche Bank acount in Stuttgart, Germany, of a Russian government official at the SPG;" to "Berwick Commercial LLC, a corporation registered in Delaware, with the understanding that the payment would be passed on, in whole or in part, to the SPG official;" "to Kongress Food Ltd., a corporation with an address in Dublin, Ireland, with the understanding that the payments would be passed on, in whole or in part, to the SPG official;" "to Delight Commercial Ltd., a corporation with an address in the Seychelles, with the understanding that the payments would be passed on, in whole or in part, to the SPG official;" "to Pyrmont Alliance Corp., a corporation with an address in the Bahamas, with the understanding that the payments would be passed on, in whole or in part, to the SPG official;" "to Loretti LLP, a corporation with an address in the United Kingdom, with the understanding that the payment would be passed on, in whole or in part, to the SPG official;" "to a Bank of America account in San Diego, California, for Sittard Investments, a California corporation, to secure passenger car sales to the Moscow tarffic police;" "to a bank account in Latvia for Novitta Ltd., a Delaware corporation, in connection with passenger car sales to the MVD;" "to a bank account in Latvia for Tower Block Ventures, a U.K. corporation, for the benefit of a consultant to the MVD in connection with passenger car sales to the MVD;" "to a bank account in Latvia for Silvarado Ltd., a corporation that provided no legitimate services for Daimler or DCAR, in connection with passenger car sales to the MVD;" "to a bank account in Latvia for Capital Alliance Corp., a Florida corporation, in connection with passenger car sales to the MVD and to the Russian military;" "to Technoforex, a Delaware corporation, to secure the sale of one commercial vehicle to the SPG;" "to Contrex, a Cyprus corporation established for the benefit of the wife" of an official;" "to the Latvian bank account of Fidelity Finance Corporation, a Delaware corporation, in connection with the sale [of vehicles] to Gormost, a department within the city of Moscow responsible for bridges and tunnels, with the understanding that such payments would be passed on, in whole or in part, to Russian government officials in order to secure this sale;" "to Fidelity Finance Corporation's Latvian bank account with the understanding that such payment would be passed on, in whole or in part, to Russian government officials;" "to the Latvian bank account of Forfun Co., a Delaware corporation, in connection with the sale [of vehicles] with the understanding that such payment would be passed on, in whole or in part, to Russian military officials;" "to the Swiss bank account of Northcote Holdings, a Costa Rican corporation, with the understanding that such payment would be passed on, in whole or in part, to Russian military officials;" and "to the bank account of Crofton Allianz, a Delaware corporation" "with the understanding that such payment would be passed on, in whole or in part, to a Russian government official."

Count two of the information charges an FCPA antibribery violation. Because DCAR is a foreign entity, the applicable section of the statute is 78dd-3 which requires a U.S. nexus. As relevant to this issue, the information charges that "DCAR caused wire transfers to be sent from Daimler accounts in Germany to financial institutions in the United States and elsewhere, via international and interstate wires, in furtherance of corrupt payments to Russian government officials" and that "DCAR made payments to third party agents, including shell companies established in the United States, knowing that such payments would be passed on, in whole or in part, to Russian government officials on behalf of DCAR and Daimler."

DOJ's Sentencing Memorandum

In the sentencing memo (here) DOJ "respectfully requests that the Court" approve the disposition of the matter against Daimler and all of the above referenced entities and "accept the guilty pleas of DaimlerChrysler Automotive Russia SAO and Daimler Export and Trade Finance GmbH." The memo notes, in a footnote, that "the court will not actually be sentencing Daimler AG and DaimlerChrysler China Ltd., as those entities have entered into deferred prosecution agreements."

The DOJ provides this summary of the overall disposition of the matter:

"The Department and Daimler agree that the appropriate resolution of this matter consists of (1) a DPA with Daimler AG, the parent company; (2) a DPA with DCCL, the Chinese subsidiary; (3) guilty pleas pursuant to plea agreements with DCAR, the Russian subsidiary, and ETF, the Daimler Finance subsidiary; (4) overall payment of a $93.6 million criminal penalty, which is apportioned, based on a Guidelines analysis, among the subsidiaries and the parent company; (5) continued obligations to provide full, complete, and truthful cooperation to the Department and any other law enforcement agency, domestic or foreign; (6) implementation of rigorous compliance enhancements, including periodic testing of same, with a recognition that the Company has already implemented substantial changes due to the investigation; and (7) the imposition of a corporate compliance monitor who will, over a three-year term, conduct a review of the compliance code, the Company's internal controls and related issues, and will prepare periodic reports on his reviews."

DOJ specifically notes that its "analysis of collateral consequences included the consideration of the risk of debarment and exclusion from government contracts, and in particular European Union Directive 2004/18/EC, which provides that companies convicted of corruption offenses shall be mandatorily excluded from government contracts in all EU countries."

As the Daimler, the BAE and Siemens enforcement actions all make clear, the simple way to avoid application of the European Union Directive is not to charge the company with a corruption offense, notwithstanding the existence of facts to support such a conviction.

This "let's not call a spade a spade" silliness occurs notwithstanding the fact that the U.S. is a member of the OECD. As relevant, OECD guidance specifically states that "Member countries should be vigilant in ensuring that investigations and prosecutions of the bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions are not influenced by considerations of national economic interest, the potential effect upon relations with another State or the identity of the natural or legal persons involved, in compliance with Article 5 of the OECD Anti Bribery Convention."

The DOJ's sentencing guidelines calculations contains a bit of irony in that Daimler received a sentencing credit (a credit which reduces the overall fine amount) because the "organization fully cooperated in the investigation and clearly demonstated recognition and affirmative acceptance of responsiblity for its criminal conduct" despite the fact that elsewhere in the sentencing memo the DOJ notes that the entire investigation started in March 2004 when a "former Daimler employee filed a whistleblower complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration ... allege[ing] that he was terminated for voicing concerns about Daimler's practice of maintaining secret accounts, including accounts in its own books and records, for the purpose of bribing foreign government officials."

In other words, even if an investigation is hatched by an internal whistleblower, a company may still be able to receive a sentencing credit for cooperating in the eventual investigation.

The sentencing range set forth in the DOJ memo is $116 - $232 million. Thus, the $93.6 million penalty is 20% below the bottom fine range of $116 million.

DOJ seeks to justify this reduction by stating that such a "reduction is appropriate given the nature and extent of Daimler's cooperation in this matter, including sharing information with the Department regarding evidence obtained as a result of Daimler's extensive investigation of corrupt payments around the world."

The DOJ further states, "indeed, because Daimler did not voluntarily disclose its conduct prior to the filing of the whistleblower lawsuit, it only receives a two-point reduction in its culpability." However, in a rather odd statement, DOJ then said that it "respectfully submits that such reduction is incongruent with the level of cooperation and assistance provided by the company in the Department's investigation." In other words, the DOJ seems to be saying something like "who cares what the guidelines say, we will do what we feel like."

In conclusion, the DOJ notes that the disposition "promotes respect for the law, provides just punishment, and affords adequate deterrence to criminal conduct for Daimler and the marketplace generally."

This would seem to be the biggest April Fools joke of all. How does another bribery, yet no bribery enforcement action "promote respect for the law?"

Finally, the DOJ states that Daimler's cooperation in the investigation has been "excellent." The DOJ notes that Daimler "conducted a worldwide internal investigation;" "regularly presented it findings" to the DOJ; "made certain witnesses available to the Department;" "voluntarily complied with requests for the production of documents from overseas;" and took disciplinary actions against over "60 company employees, with approximately 45 employees being terminated or separated under termination agreements." "Finally, and perhaps most significantly," in the words of the DOJ, "Daimler began to reform its anti-bribery compliance program while the investigation was still ongoing, without waiting until the finalization of a disposition with the Department." The sentencing memo then sets forth a list of changes Daimler made to its compliance program. Such measures, no doubt, will now come to be viewed as "best practices."