Arent Fox's Terree Bowers and Mary Carter Andrues, along with several other high-profile white-collar defense attorneys, last month participated in a roundtable discussion of the federal government's growing emphasis on enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The discussion was moderated by California Lawyer magazine, which has published a transcript of the discussion in the July issue. In a preface, the magazine noted:

Federal regulators and prosecutors, as well as international authorities, continue to emphasize the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In the first few months of 2010, the US government collected $1.2 billion in fines and settlements related to FCPA violations, and there are currently about 140 open US Department of Justice investigations in this area. Practitioners report seeing FCPA enforcement trends involving the increased prosecution of individuals, wider coordination among international prosecutors, the expansion of enforcement into new industries, and the use of innovative investigative strategies. Additionally, proposed legislation could increase FCPA risk by incentivizing whistleblowers and creating severe penalties for government contractors.

Our panel of experts discuss these topics, as well as issues related to strategic remedies for financial fraud victims, the importance of robust compliance programs, and notable cases to watch.

To read the full transcript of this timely and informative panel discussion, please click on the article in the “Downloads” section to the right.

If you have further questions about the issues raised in this release, please contact the Arent Fox attorney with whom you work or a member of Arent Fox’s FCPA practice group.