Cross-Border Investigations
Update
Skadden, A rps, Slate, Meag her & Flom LLP and Af filiates skadden. com
May 2015
2 / Recent Pros ecutions an d Settlem ents
4 / FCPA Enforcement Trends a nd
Developments
Recent U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforce-
ment trends include the growing importance of
corporate cooperation with the U.S. Department
of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, and increasing coordination between
U.S. and non-U.S. authorities.
7 / Emerging Trends in Chin a
Whistleblower Complaints Continue to Rise
Companies should take steps to mitigate the
risks of the rise of whistleblower activity in China
and elsewhere.
SEC Wins Pus h to Investigate Ch ina-Based Com panies
The SEC continues to investigate China-based
companies that issue securities listed in the U.S.
9 / Congress Hol ds Power to Reach For eign
Documents and Information Abroad
U.S. congressional committees can use a range of
investigative tools to obtain relevant evidence from
foreign corporations headquartered abroad.
12 / Recent Bribery Trial Highligh ts New
Corporate Sen tencing App roach in UK
The forthcoming sentencing of a U.K. company
convicted of offenses involving the briber y of
foreign public officials will likely set the standard
for future sentences under new U.K. guidelines.
13 / EU Data Protection L aws: A Continuin g
Challenge for Cross-Border Investigations
The European Union will maintain stringent
requirements for the transfer of personal data to
non-EU countries, while the EU’s and the U.S.’s
views concerning data protection continue to
diverge.
16 / Endnotes
18 / Contacts
2 Skadden, A rps, Slate, Meag her & Flom LLP and Af filiates
Cross-Border Investiga tions Update
12.22.14
Bank Leumi Group
Bank Leumi Group agreed to enter
into a deferred prosecution agreement
(DPA) with the U.S. Department of
Justice (DOJ) to defer prosecution on a
criminal information count charging the
bank with conspiracy to aid and assist in
the preparation of false tax returns and
other documents to the Internal Revenue
Service. This is the first time an Israeli
bank has admitted to such criminal
conduct. As part of the agreement, Bank
Leumi Group agreed to pay $270 million
in penalties and restitution. The Bank
Leumi DPA comes six months after
Credit Suisse AG’s guilty plea and nearly
six years after UBS’s DPA to settle simi-
lar charges and allegations, respectively.
During the announcement of the Bank
Leumi DPA, DOJ Tax Division Acting
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lar ry
Wszalek stated, “Those institutions that
have engaged, or continue to engage, in
conduct similar to that of Bank Leumi
Group are well advised that the Tax
Division will continue to extend its global
reach in enforcing this nation’s criminal
tax laws.”
03 .11 .1 5
Commerzbank AG
Commerzbank AG entered into a DPA
with the DOJ and settlements with the
U.S. Oce of Foreign Assets Control,
the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, the New York Depart-
ment of Financial Services (DFS) and
the New York County District Attorney’s
Oce, agreeing to pay nearly $1.45
billion in penalties for violations of U.S.
sanctions and anti-money laundering
laws. The DFS settlement also required
the termination of several bank employ-
ees involved in the misconduct. The
settlement came eight months after BNP
Paribas SA became the first foreign finan-
cial institution to plead guilty to viola-
tions of U.S. sanctions laws and is a part
of a growing line of sanctions settlements
by European banks.
03 .2 5.15
Schlumberger Oilfield
Holdings Ltd.
Schlumberger Oilfield Holdings Ltd.,
a wholly owned subsidiary of Schlum-
berger Ltd., a non-U.S. corporation head-
quartered in Texas, agreed to plead guilty
and pay approximately $233 million in
penalties for U.S. sanctions violations,
including a $155.1 million criminal
fine — the largest ever imposed for
violations of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act. This landmark
DOJ sanctions case was brought against
a non-U.S. corporation, based on actions
of the corporation’s U.S.-based business,
through its U.S.-based employees, that
facilitated trade via non-U.S. entities with
sanctioned countries, including Iran and
Sudan.Schlumberger Ltd., the parent
entity, agreed to hire an independent
consultant to review its sanctions policies
and its audits of sanctions compliance.
03 . 3 0 .1 5
Banca della Svizzera Italiana
Banca della Svizzera Italiana (BSI) became
the first bank to enter into a non-prosecu-
tion agreement as part of its participation
in the DOJ’s voluntary disclosure program
for Swiss banks. Pursuant to the settlement,
BSI agreed to pay $211 million in penalties.
We expect that the DOJ will reach similar
settlements with many other banks partici-
pating in the Swiss program in 2015.
Since the publication of our
inaugural issue in October 2014, the
following significant cross-border
prosecutions and settlements have
been announced.
