In an article for Law360, White & Case partner Joel Cohen discussed the Department of Justice's continued Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement following the release of new and tightened guidelines.
The article noted that there had previously been a four-month pause on FCPA prosecutions, which Joel said many players in the legal field had interpreted as a sign that there may be a complete retrenchment on FCPA enforcement. However, he explained that "FCPA enforcement is not over. Its demise was overstated; it's still with us."
When discussing the impact of these guidelines, Joel said that the DOJ will "be more interested in pursuing and prosecuting cases where US companies or entities are losing access to markets and competition because of corruption outside the United States by a non-US company or a non-US person," though he added that the guidance doesn't explicitly limit the DOJ and is not legally binding.
Joel compared the possibility of the DOJ reverting to an enforcement approach more similar to six months ago to "deciding to go on a two-week vacation and not bringing a raincoat because you think it's not going to rain tomorrow."
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