On November 7, 2017, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) unsealed charges against five individuals—including two executives—alleging violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) in connection with an alleged foreign bribery scheme at Rolls-Royce plc, the United Kingdom-based manufacturer and distributor of power systems for the aerospace, defense, marine, and energy sectors.  All five individuals are accused of participating in a scheme to bribe officials in Central Asia and China to win equipment supply and power services contracts, which partly formed the basis for the DOJ’s enforcement action against Rolls-Royce in January 2017.  Four of the five individuals had pleaded guilty at the time of the unsealing, which represents the latest example of the DOJ’s commitment to prosecute individuals for alleged FCPA violations. 

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On September 21, 2017, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced significant enforcement actions against Telia Company AB, a Swedish telecommunications firm, for alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”).  United States v. Telia Company AB, No. 1:17-cr-00581 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); In the Matter of Telia Company AB, Admin. Proc. No. 3-18195 (September 21, 2017) (“Order”).  Specifically, the DOJ charged Telia and its Uzbek subsidiary, Coscom, with conspiring to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA by offering and paying at least $330 million in bribes to a shell company in Uzbekistan under the guise of payments for lobbying and consulting services that never actually occurred, while the SEC alleged that Telia violated the anti-bribery and internal accounting controls provisions of the FCPA through the same conduct.  Telia’s subsidiary Coscom pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York; meanwhile, Telia entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) with the DOJ, and the SEC instituted settled administrative proceedings against the company.  In aggregate, Telia agreed to pay criminal penalties of approximately $548 million to resolve the DOJ charges and related charges filed by the Public Prosecution Service of the Netherlands, and agreed to pay approximately $457 million in disgorgement to settle the SEC allegations.  Because of certain offsets, Telia’s total payments to the DOJ, SEC, and foreign regulators will be approximately $965 million.  However, Telia was not required to engage a compliance monitor, in light of the company’s remediation and the state of its compliance program.

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On September 14, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed an administrative proceeding against SunTrust Investment Services, Inc. (“STIS”), the investment services subsidiary of SunTrust Banks.  STIS consented to the filing of the proceedings and settled the allegations, without admitting or denying them.  STIS agreed to pay a penalty totaling $1,148,071.77, as well as disgorgement plus interest.  In addition, the STIS agreed to be censured.

On July 27, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) brought an enforcement  action against Halliburton Company, a Houston-based oilfield services corporation.  Specifically, the SEC alleged that Halliburton violated the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) by utilizing a local Angolan company to obtain business from the Angolan state oil company.  In the Matter of Halliburton Company and Jeannot Lorenz, Admin. Proc. No. 3-18080 (July 27, 2017) (“Order”).  Without admitting or denying the alleged conduct and charges, Halliburton agreed to pay approximately $29.2 million to settle SEC charges stemming from the long-running investigation which commenced in 2011.  As part of the Order, former Halliburton Vice-President Jeannot Lorenz, who allegedly spearheaded the conduct that formed the basis for the company’s settlement, agreed to pay a $75,000 penalty for “causing” the company’s underlying violations, circumventing internal accounting controls, and falsifying books and records.