Corporate Enforcement Since 2006

Yesterday we posted our 2011 FCPA enforcement index. Today we look at corporate enforcement for the years from 2006.

Here goes:

In 2011, 15 companies paid $508.6 million in criminal and civil penalties, and in disgorgement and interest.

In 2010, 23 companies paid $1.8 billion.

In 2009, 11 companies paid $644 million.

In 2008, 11 companies paid $890.

In 2007, 15 companies paid $128 million.

And in 2006, 4 companies paid $86.25 million.

Here's a breakdown (our first) for 2007 and 2006.

For 2007:

Aibel -- $4.2 million

Baker Hughes -- $44 million

Bristow Group -- nil

Chevron -- $28 million

Delta Pine -- $300,000

Dow Chemical -- $325,000

El Paso Corporation -- $2.25 million

Immucor -- nil

Ingersoll-Rand -- $4.2 million

Lucent -- $1.5 million

Omega Advisers -- $500,000

Paradigm -- $1 million

Textron -- $3.5 million

Vetco Gray -- $26 million

York -- $12 million

And for 2006:

Oil States -- nil

Schnitzer Steel -- $15.25 million

Statoil -- $21 million

Tyco -- $50 million (plus $1 disgorgement)*

*Most of the charges against Tyco were for securities law violations other than FCPA offenses. The final judgment didn't allocate the penalties.

Top Ten Disgorgements

There's been a lot of talk lately about the DOJ's "expansive enforcement practices" and practically none about the SEC's. So let's get started by taking a look at a remedy the SEC now uses in most FCPA cases: disgorgement.

As one commentator said a couple of years ago, disgorgement was never mentioned when the FCPA was first debated and adopted in 1977, nor when Congress amended the law in 1988 or 1998. In fact, as of 1977, the SEC had barely used disgorgement in any type of securities enforcement actions, and 27 years passed before disgorgement popped up in an FCPA case.

That was in 2004 when ABB Ltd disgorged $5.9 million to settle civil antibribery, books-and-records, and internal-controls offenses. Since then the SEC has used disgorgement in about three-quarters of its FCPA-related enforcement actions.

Here are the SEC's top ten FCPA-related disgorgements (including prejudgment interest):

1. Siemens $350 million in 2008.

2. KBR $177 million in 2009.

3. Snamprogetti $125 million in 2010.

4. Technip $98 million in 2010.

5. Daimler $91.4 million in 2010.

6. Alcatel-Lucent $45 million in 2010.

7. Chevron $25 million in 2007.

8. Pride $23.5 million in 2010.

9. GE $22.5 million in 2010.

10. Baker Hughes $23 million in 2007.

If we've missed any cases that should appear in this initial list, please let us know.

For comparison, take a look at our current list of the top ten FCPA enforcement actions of all time.

The cheesiest disgorgement of all time? SEC v. Tyco Int’l. Ltd., a 2006 case. For numerous charges including fraud by inflating its operating income by $567 million, and antibribery violations under the FCPA for payments to government officials in Brazil, the company paid a $50 million penalty and a $1 million disgorgement.

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Our thanks to a reader in D.C. who helped research this post.

In New Top Ten, Eight Are Foreign

Following yesterday's seven-party settlement, Panalpina, Pride, and Shell join the top ten FCPA cases of all time, coming in at numbers seven, nine, and ten respectively.

Dropping off the list are Willbros, Chevron, and Baker Hughes.

Eight of the top ten (numbers 3 through 10) are from this year.

And amazingly, eight now involve foreign companies.

(Earlier this year, Paris-based Alcatel-Lucent said it will pay $137.4 million in a settlement agreed in principle with the DOJ and SEC.)

The current top ten FCPA-related settlements of all time are:

1. Siemens (Germany): $800 million in 2008.

2. KBR / Halliburton (USA): $579 million in 2009.

3. BAE (UK): $400 million in 2010.

4. Snamprogetti Netherlands B.V. / ENI S.p.A (Holland/Italy): $365 million in 2010.

5. Technip S.A. (France): $338 million in 2010.

6. Daimler AG (Germany): $185 million in 2010.

7. Panalpina (Switzerland): $81.8 million in 2010.

8. ABB Ltd (Switzerland): $58.3 million in 2010.

9. Pride (USA): $56.1 million in 2010.

10. Shell (UK/Holland): $48.1 million in 2010.

Editor's note: This post was updated here.

ABB In, Titan Out

ABB joins the list of top ten FCPA settlements of all time, coming in at number seven. And after a run of five years in the top ten, Titan Corporation drops to number eleven. That means half the top ten cases are now from 2010, and six involve non-U.S. companies.

They are:

1. Siemens: $800 million in 2008.

2. KBR / Halliburton: $579 million in 2009.

3. BAE: $400 million in 2010.

4. Snamprogetti Netherlands B.V. / ENI S.p.A: $365 million in 2010.

5. Technip S.A.: $338 million in 2010.

6. Daimler AG: $185 million in 2010.

7. ABB Ltd: $58.3 million in 2010.

8. Baker Hughes: $44.1 million in 2007.

9. Willbros: $32.3 million in 2008.

10. Chevron: $30 million in 2007.

Editor's note: This post was updated here.

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Who are candidates to join the top ten?

We'd include:

Alcatel-Lucent, which said six months ago it will pay $137.4 million in a settlement agreed in principle with the DOJ and SEC.

Panalpina has reserved about $110 million for an expected FCPA settlement with the DOJ and SEC, and a separate antitrust resolution. In April it said the settlements should happen "in the near future."

Pride International, Inc. said in February it has set aside $56.2 million for an expected settlement with the DOJ and SEC.

Graft Buster Enters French Politics

Eva Joly, a Norwegian-born former French magistrate, is running for the French presidency under the Green Party banner.

She became famous across Europe for being a fearless anti-corruption campaigner, even taking on former minister Bernard Tapie and Crédit Lyonnais bank.

Her best-known case involved French oil giant Elf Aquitaine. She uncovered fraud leading to criminal convictions of Elf’s top two executives and to the resignation of Roland Dumas, president of France’s Constitutional Court. She received death threats during the eight-year investigation.

She moved from Norway to France at 18. After working her way through night law school and then practicing law, in 1990 she became an investigating magistrate in Paris.

She's also worked for the Icelandic government, helping it uncover white collar crime that contributed to the country's financial collapse.

Last year, Joly, 66, was elected as a French member of the European Parliament. Now she wants to run for president of France in the 2012 elections.

She told the France24 news site: “I am going into politics because I recognise the limitations of voluntary action … I have a strong desire to improve relations between the developed and developing world. I want to change power structures within society. I am desperate to see a more just and more united society.

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Why say it? It's fashionable these days for critics -- we won't name them -- to say there's no evidence the FCPA has reduced bribery. But saying there's no evidence of crimes not committed isn't exactly, you know, conclusive of anything.

Then again, there's plenty of evidence of less bribery because of the FCPA at companies like Siemens, BAE, Daimler, KBR, ABB, Baker Hughes, Willbros, Chevron, and so on. For us, that's the evidence that counts.

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In whose interests? Great post today from Kevin LaCroix at the D&O Diary -- Do Defendant Companies Financially Underperform Following Securities Lawsuit Settlements?