Penalties for Violating the FCPA in DC

The penalties for violating the FCPA in DC vary depending on how the offense is charged and the amount of money that is involved. For instance, an FCPA violation could be charged as a conspiracy under the general conspiracy statute which is a 5-year offense.

FCPA violations also have significant monetary penalties, which can be between $2,000,000 to $25,000,000 per offense. Under anti-bribery provisions, companies can face a fine of up to $2,000,000  per violation, and under the accounting and record keeping provisions, it could be up to $25,000,000. Other charges, such as  bribery, could be applied to a specific case as well, and these crimes have stiff criminal penalties that involve jail time in addition to lengthy legal processes. Fortunately, our attorneys could help you through this challenging time and work to mitigate the potential consequences.

How Self-Reporting Impacts Penalties for a FCPA Violation in DC

In many FCPA cases, companies investigate themselves. This is often the way these cases are resolved. A company becomes aware of information that might trigger an FCPA investigation by the government, then it conducts its own internal investigation to make the determination about what actually occurred and who is going to be responsible. Then, the company self-reports these findings.

What a company might deem to be worthy of investigation are payments made to foreign officials, or the transfer of things of value to foreign officials in exchange for favorable treatment either on bidding or contracts.

The Department of Justice manual outlines the protocols that DOJ prosecutors are supposed to follow in considering whether to prosecute and if they do, how to prosecute. This is why self-reporting can be so important because if a violation is self-reported, then, per the DOJ protocols, there’s supposed to be  consideration given when deciding whether or not to prosecute, or issuing a non-prosecution agreement instead. This means that self-reporting could result in less severe penalties for a FCPA violation in DC.

Other Factors that Impact FCPA Violation Consequences

Self-reported violations are certainly given more consideration than if the DOJ has to go out and find evidence. The amount of money involved also plays a role in the penalties a company may face for violating the FCPA in DC. DOJ may also consider what proactive steps are taken to correct violations and what compliance programs are put in place to prevent future violations. Our attorneys could assess a FCPA case and determine what steps a company could take to minimize the potential consequences they may be facing.