Rahman Ravelli's assessment of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement published in US

Rahman Ravelli has had their in-depth analysis of US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement published by the New York University Journal of Law and Business.

In the 66-page article, “The Continuing Façade of FCPA Enforcement: A Critical Look at the Telia DPA’’, Rahman Ravelli examines in detail the theory put forward by Professor Mike Koehler.

Professor Koehler has argued that most FCPA allegations are resolved through private negotiation, which leads companies to accept liability for charges – some of which may be weak or unsupported – in order to bring an end to the investigation. Professor Koehler calls this the façade of enforcement, and says it prompts many companies to base their compliance policies on the resolution of FCPA investigations; even though those resolutions may not be based on the evidence available or proper interpretation of the Act.

In their analysis, Rahman Ravelli focuses on the 2017 deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) that was concluded between the US Department of Justice and the Swedish telecommunications firm Telia Company AB. The DPA was notable because the facts at the heart of it were subject to challenge in the Swedish courts and because the company released the full details of an investigative report it had commissioned into the allegations.

Rahman Ravelli argues that the Telia case appears to be a clear example of a company accepting a DPA based on largely unsupported allegations in order to bring it to a swift end, for business reasons. Such settlements, they say, do not match either the facts available or the law and can have potentially negative consequences.

The article can be accessed by following this link.