In December 2002 Paul Berger, then the associate director of enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission, was trying to figure out how to structure a settlement with Syncor International Corp. The agency had charged the global radiopharmaceutical company with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the federal antibribery statute. The company had promised, of course, not to break the law again. But Berger decided that the settlement needed something extra to make sure that Syncor kept its word. So he decided to borrow a feature that had already been used by the government in a few non – FCPA cases: an independent compliance monitor.

While the Syncor settlement was the first FCPA case to include a monitor, it was far from the last. In the ten years since, another 36 monitors have been appointed in FCPA settlements with the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice. Enacted in 1977, the FCPA bars companies from bribing foreign government officials to get or keep business. The monitors — almost always lawyers — have been tasked with looking into a company’s FCPA compliance policies, and suggesting enhancements to its antibribery procedures. They pore through records and interview executives in both the United States and abroad. Then they report their findings and recommendations to the company and the government.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]