Page 77 - U.S. FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT

A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Second Edition.

Chapter 6

FCPA Penalties,
Sanctions, and Remedies

FCPA PENALTIES, SANCTIONS,

AND REMEDIES

What Are the Potential making the corrupt payment, as long as the facts
Consequences for Violations supporting the increased fines are included in the
of the FCPA? indictment and either proved to the jury beyond
a reasonable doubt or admitted in a guilty plea
The FCPA provides for different criminal and
civil penalties for companies and individuals. proceeding. 362 Fines imposed on individuals may
not be paid by their employer or principal. 363
Criminal Penalties
U.S. Sentencing Guidelines
For each violation of the anti-bribery
provisions, the FCPA provides that corporations When calculating penalties for violations
of the FCPA, DOJ focuses its analysis on the U.S.
and other business entities are subject to a fine of
up to $2 million. 358 Individuals, including officers, Sentencing Guidelines 364 in all of its resolutions,
including guilty pleas, DPAs, and NPAs. The
directors, stockholders, and agents of companies,
are subject to a fine of up to $250,000 and Guidelines provide a very detailed and predictable
structure for calculating penalties for all federal
imprisonment for up to five years. 359
For each violation of the accounting provisions, crimes, including violations of the FCPA. To
determine the appropriate penalty, the “offense
the FCPA provides that corporations and other
business entities are subject to a fine of up to $25 level” is first calculated by examining both the
severity of the crime and facts specific to the crime,
million. 360 Individuals are subject to a fine of up to
$5 million and imprisonment for up to 20 years. 361 with appropriate reductions for cooperation and
acceptance of responsibility, and, for business
Under the Alternative Fines Act, 18 U.S.C.
§ 3571(d), courts may impose significantly higher entities, additional factors such as voluntary
disclosure, pre-existing compliance programs, and
fines than those provided by the FCPA—up to
twice the benefit that the defendant obtained by remediation.
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