Category Archives: Anti-Corruption

European Union Approves Global Magnitsky-Style Human Rights Sanctions Regime

In a landmark development, the European Union’s Foreign Ministers on December 8 approved an “Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy” that establishes a new mechanism for targeting systematic violators of human rights from any country in the world. The human rights community has colloquially termed the Action Plan “Europe’s Global Magnitsky Act”, an homage to the U.S. Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act that was passed by a wide bipartisan margin in Congress and signed into law by former President Obama at the end of his administration.… More

Trump Administration Announces Sanctions Pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Act

On December 21, 2017, the Trump Administration released a list of foreign nationals it has identified to be sanctioned in accordance with the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act of 2016. In December 2016, we issued a client alert providing an overview of the legislation as it was being passed by Congress.   

Based on the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 – which authorized imposition of sanctions on Russian nationals who grossly violate human rights or engage in massive corruption – the Global Magnitsky Act greatly expands the aperture of U.S.… More

New FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy Incentivizes Corporate Voluntary Self-Disclosure and Cooperation

Under the new FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy recently released by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), when a company has voluntarily self-disclosed misconduct, fully cooperated in the government’s ensuing investigation, and appropriately remediated the situation and made restitution or otherwise disgorged all illicit profits, there is a now an express presumption – absent certain identified aggravating factors – that DOJ will affirmatively decline to prosecute the company.

This new Policy is an evolutionary step forward in enforcement – not a radical change.… More

Five on Friday – Five Recent Developments that We’ve Been Watching Closely

iStock_000011057325XSmallIt’s Friday and time for another overview of developments in the field of business and human rights that we’ve been monitoring.

This week’s post includes: the formal withdrawal of the United States from the EITI; the passage of the Canadian Magnitsky Act; and the launch of the Investor Alliance for Human Rights.

Compliance Challenge: The Links Between Corruption and Human Trafficking

TraffickingCompanies are increasingly being required to disclose how they assess and respond to the risks of human trafficking in their product supply chains. Statutes like the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act and the U.K. Modern Slavery Act require such disclosures. In addition, certain U.S. federal contractors are now required to develop detailed compliance plans to address the risks of trafficking associated with the good and services they provide to the U.S.… More

Five on Friday – Five Recent Developments that We’ve Been Watching Closely

iStock_000011057325XSmallIt’s Friday and time for another overview of developments in the field of business and human rights that we’ve been monitoring.

This week’s post includes: recent developments with regard to a major Alien Tort Statute case; the announcement of a pilot effort to benchmark corporate human rights performance; and a major new report demonstrating the potential links between anti-corruption compliance programs and effort to eradicate labor trafficking in corporate supply chains.… More

Frequently Asked Questions on the U.S. Government’s National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct

Global BusinessOn February 12, the U.S. Department of State released a set of “Frequently Asked Questions” (“FAQs”) with regard to the U.S. Government’s efforts to develop a National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct. The plan is expected to be released by the end of this year.

As announced in September, the U.S. Government is working on a National Action Plan “to promote and incentivize responsible business conduct,… More

United States to Develop National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct

Global BusinessOn September 24, at a meeting of the Open Government Partnership at the United Nations, President Obama announced that the U.S. Government would develop a national action plan to promote responsible business conduct. The United States had been under considerable pressure from civil society organizations and others to develop such a plan.

Specifically, and as stated in a fact sheet released by the White House:

The United States will develop a National Action Plan to promote and incentivize responsible business conduct,… More

The Transparency Wars: Coming to a Galaxy Near You?

iStock_000019388600XSmallEveryone is in favor of transparency and anti-corruption – at least, everyone except the occasional despot or dictator. Yet substantial controversy now swirls around the disclosure of the vast sums that governments receive from mining and oil projects.

The question is not whether the streams of payments paid to governments by oil, gas, and mining companies should be disclosed, but how.… More

The Transparency Agenda: Section 1504 and Beyond

A number of significant briefs were filed recently with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in support of Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires oil, gas, and mining issuers to report on their payments to governments.

On January 16, Oxfam filed an intervenor brief in the case that the American Petroleum Institute (“API”) and others have brought against the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to block its final rule. … More

Due Diligence on Human Rights? Consider Consulting Your FPCA Counsel.

Human rights due diligence requires many of the hallmarks of existing corporate compliance programs: clear policies; assessments of risk; and the integration of strong standards into corporate management systems. This provides companies with the opportunity to leverage the capacity of a variety of existing internal compliance programs in an effort to integrate consideration of human rights-related risks and impacts into the management of their operations.… More