Page 32 - CCCA63_2009

CCCA_V3No3_Corruption-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No1_DriversSeat-FIN.qxd 9/16/09 9:47 PM Page 32 Feature Crackingdown oncorruption General counsel are on notice. When it comes to bribing foreign officials, companies can’t escape the long arm of the law. By Yves Faguy G reasing palms can help win a lucrative contract abroad, but it can also invite astronomical fines, imprisonment, and wreak havoc with a company’s reputation.As global concern over international corruption mounts, governments are stepping up efforts to crack down on graft. No wonder then that in legal departments around the world, lawyers are rais- ing compliance under anti-bribery laws — most notably the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) — as a serious risk to monitor. “In 2008, we saw a record-breaking number of corruption settlements in the U.S. and elsewhere,” says Christa Wessel, a partner at Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP in Toronto.“And U.S.enforcement agencies are getting much more sophisticat- ed at investigating companies.” Indeed, The Wall Street Journal reported in May that 120 FCP investigations were pending, up from 100 at the end of 2008.And while the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) brought no more than three FCPA cases in 2003, last year they launched 17 PAUL EEKHOFF enforcement actions. 32 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association FALL 2009