A dual approach to addressing corruption
Corruption is a serious issue for companies doing business in many parts of the world, particularly in emerging markets. Allegations under anti-corruption laws ― most notably the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the UK Bribery Act (UKBA) ― can have potentially crippling consequences in the form of government investigations, sanctions, prosecutions and reputational damage.
Dechert believes in addressing the corruption challenge with a dual approach: We help companies proactively comply with anti-corruption laws and regulations, and represent them in investigations and regulatory proceedings.
Compliance
Our team assists clients in all phases of their compliance and risk mitigation strategy ― everything from conducting risk assessment and evaluating existing compliance programs to developing new policies and procedures. Compliance services include:
- Designing and implementing internal anti-corruption programs.
- Identifying company-specific risks related to bribery, fraud and corruption, and implementing solutions to mitigate those risks in numerous jurisdictions.
- Conducting anti-corruption training and compliance program implementation.
- Monitoring compliance with anti-corruption laws and government agreements.
- Counseling clients on anti-corruption issues related to mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances and joint ventures involving international businesses and sales operations.
Investigations
Dechert is a world leader in helping companies and individuals navigate the perilous waters of anti-corruption investigations. For decades, clients have counted on us to advise them on matters such as voluntary disclosure, disciplinary and remedial measures, and local-law issues in jurisdictions across the globe.
Our expertise in complex financial practices enhances our ability to handle anti-corruption investigations. We have particularly deep experience in areas such as:
- Accounting restatements and insider trading
- Asset-tracing and recovery
- Cartel investigations
- Commercial corruption
- Money laundering
- Tax and accounting fraud
Uncommon insights into how regulators think
Dechert offers clients comprehensive capabilities in anti-corruption representation, starting with our team members: Many are former prosecutors, government regulators or compliance officers with the world’s top regulators and enforcement authorities. We’ve been on both sides of investigations and compliance issues, giving us uncommon insights into how regulators think and investigations work.
Our lawyers are highly knowledgeable in anti-corruption laws and enforcement agency practices in many countries, and regularly coordinate complex, multi-jurisdictional investigations. We’ve represented clients in some of the most complex and far-reaching anti-corruption cases around the world, including those launched by:
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
- FINRA and other self-regulatory organizations
- Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC)
- Serious Fraud Office (SFO)
- Treasury Department
- U.S. state attorneys general
Our clients include worldwide leaders in industries such as chemicals, defense, energy, financial services, pharmaceuticals, software and technology. We’ve long represented them and others in locations where corruption poses major challenges, notably Asia, Africa, China, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Russia.
