In 2012, eight companies paid the Securities and Exchange Commission over $118 million to settle civil suits under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Thats an average of nearly $15 million per company, a dollar amount that your company would likely prefer to keep in its bank account. If its any consolation to a company facing the prospects of such a payment, three recent SEC lawsuits offer some insights into an age-old protection for defendants: the statute of limitations.
While there is a clear five-year statute of limitations for the SECs civil suits under the FCPA, the cases described below shed some light on key questions regarding when that five-year period begins and whether there are any exceptions to the rule. In doing so, the cases also provide lessons that might be of use to your company if sued by the SEC for FCPA violations.
