Top FCPA Enforcement Stories For 2020

It was a rotten year all around, but there were still some awards to hand out, including Richard Cassin’s picks for the Good, the Bad, and the Missing of FCPA enforcement for 2020. The Good: $6.4 billion in fines and disgorgements, the most ever by a long way. The Bad: Goldman Sachs $3.3 billion FCPA resolution in October made it the first American company to make first place in the Top Ten list. The investment bank also brushed aside compliance officers’ warnings before committing the massive fraud in Malaysia that earned it the top spot. The Missing:  FCPA enforcement against Chinese companies. In 64 FCPA enforcement actions, some or all of the illegal behavior happened in China, but Chinese companies simply do not become FCPA defendants. Congress recently adopted the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. If the President signs, U.S. exchanges will delist Chinese companies unless the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board or federal regulators can inspect their financial audits.