The Department of Justice (DOJ) in the U.S. has reopened investigations and prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in Latin America. This move indicates the DOJ’s interest in finding out more about corporate conduct in the area. The decision hones multinationals, especially those companies that work in the fields of energy, infrastructure, and the extractive industries, to be under the legal watch of very close proximity.
Experts in the field of law are of the opinion that the return of FCPA enforcement will result in a reaction of the United States’ determination to reassert its global anti-corruption stance. Apart from the corruption scandals, Latin America is also under the influence of the Department of Justice because of the weak governing system in that area, which is tending to create legal exposures for the companies that are operating cross-border.
For companies, such an upsurge in FCPA enforcement will lead to not only the upgrading of present compliance measures but also expanding these measures. They are urged to escalate their due diligence routine, to establish the monitoring of the various third-party relationships, and to toughen internal controls so as to avoid liabilities. The noncompliance with FCPA provisions may lead to the imposition of huge fines against companies, their image being put in the spotlight, and even to some of their executives being charged with criminal activities. Attorneyss give the example of the FCPA’s extraterritorial features to show how the powers in America can look for the culprits of wrongdoing in other countries if the corporations are linked in any way to the US market. By far, this wide reach means that companies of any nationality have to harmonize their legal compliance strategies with those of U.S. standards, no matter where they are geographically situated.
DOJ’s getting back to work not only turns the beam of the law towards companies in Latin America, but also signals the region’s importance in the US anti-corruption strategy and that this region will be kept under the watchful eye of the DOJ.
