Becoming a Whistleblower, and exposing SEC fraud or violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), is an essential way you can contribute to the strength of our economy.
Becoming a Whistleblower, and exposing SEC fraud or violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), is an essential way you can contribute to the strength of our economy. Free and fair securities markets are the underpinnings of our financial system. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Protection Act created the SEC and CFTC whistleblower programs to ensure that future Bernard Madoff’s will be brought to justice far quicker.
Under the SEC whistleblower program, whether insider trading violations, stock price manipulation or FCPA violations, whistleblowers can now receive from 10 percent to 30 percent of the monies collected based on the whistleblower’s information. SEC fraud comes in many forms, but at its core it prejudices the investing public, at the hands of management that they’ve entrusted with their hard-earned money. An effective whistleblower program seeking to remedy these sad realities is long overdue, and is likely to become a cornerstone of public market compliance over time.
SEC and FCPA fraud typically involve some combination of the following:
- violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, most often involving the bribery of foreign officials in exchange for favorable business dealings;
- money laundering operations seeking to obscure the identity, source and destination of the funds represented by sets of financial transactions;
- insider trading violations which unfairly favor those parties with knowledge to the detriment of the broader investing public; and
- materially misstating or failing to report material information that the investing public has a right to know under existing securities laws.
SEC & FCPA fraud settlements include:
SEC Charges Siemens AG for Engaging in Worldwide Bribery
Settled allegations that it engaged in a systematic practice of paying bribes to foreign government officials to obtain business.
"The day is past when multi-national corporations could regard illicit payments to foreign officials as simply another cost of doing business. The $1.6 billion in combined sanctions that Siemens will pay in the U.S. and Germany should make clear that these corrupt business practices will be rooted out wherever they take place, and the sanctions for them will be severe."
Daimler AG and Three Subsidiaries Resolve Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Investigation and Agree to Pay $93.6 Million in Criminal Penalties
Settled allegations that it engaged in a long-standing practice of paying bribes to foreign government officials through a variety of mechanisms.
"In a decade-long scheme involving tens of millions of dollars, Daimler AG and three of its subsidiaries brazenly offered bribes in exchange for business around the world."
Technip S.A. Resolves Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Investigation and Agrees to Pay $240 Million Criminal Penalty
Settled allegations that it participated in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement and construction contracts to build liquefied natural gas facilities valued at more than $6 billion.
"Today's criminal penalty is an example of how companies that intentionally bribe foreign government officials for their own gain will be prosecuted."
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If you have first-hand knowledge of a major SEC and/or FCPA fraud on the U.S. government, Whistleblowers Against Fraud can help you Maximize Your Whistleblower Reward. Contact us to Blow the Whistle on fraud and receive a free strategic assessment of your whistleblower information.
