Foreign public corruption has become a hot topic in board rooms and executive suites. Why? Because of record settlements in a string of high profile cases, such as Daimler, BAE, KBR and Siemens.1 The Department of Justice has also raised the heat further by prosecuting individuals, not just companies, for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations and by using the kind of tactics, such as undercover agents, taped conversations and stings, typically used in organized crime and narcotics cases.2 And the Securities and Exchange Commission recently created a specialized line unit to handle FCPA cases.
Given this increased governmental activity, U.S. companies faced with FCPA risk will increasingly seek to assess their potential exposure by turning to counsel to conduct internal investigations. But internal FCPA investigations pose unique challenges for lawyers, investigators and clients.
