On June 30, 2010, the House of Representatives passed the conference version of H.R. 4173, the financial reform bill, which contains provisions that would impose new requirements on companies that use “conflict minerals” and provide new whistleblower rewards. The Senate is expected to pass this conference version the week of July 12, 2010.
On July 7, 2010, the Justice Department reported that Snamprogetti Netherlands B.V., agreed to pay a $240 million criminal penalty to resolve charges related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for its participation in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement and construction contracts. The contracts to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities on Bonny Island, Nigeria, were valued at more than $6 billion.
The Department of Justice announces that an Italian citizen and former executive of Control Components Inc. (CCI), Flavio Ricotti, has been extradited to the U.S. from Germany to face alleged bribery charges.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a settled federal court action against California-based telecommunications company Veraz Networks, Inc., alleging that Veraz violated the books and records and internal controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
On June 30, 2010, the House agreed to the conference report to accompany H.R. 4173, the financial reform bill. The separately House- and Senate-passed bills contained trade provisions such as requirements for companies using conflict minerals, whistleblower awards for securities violations such as FCPA, expanded authority for the FTC. See future issue of ITT for details on the trade provisions in the conference report. On June 30, 2010, the Senate rejected a motion to close further debate on H.R. 4173.
The Justice Department has announced that Technip S.A., a global engineering, construction and services company based in Paris, has agreed to pay a $240 million criminal penalty to resolve charges related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for its participation in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts. The EPC contracts to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities on Bonny Island, Nigeria, were valued at more than $6 billion.
On May 20, 2010, the Senate passed H.R. 4173, the financial reform bill. The House passed its own version of H.R. 4173 on December 11, 2009.
On June 9, 2010, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission heard testimony which evaluated China’s past and future role in the World Trade Organization.
"Daily Update on Capitol Hill Trade Actions" is a daily International Trade Today compilation of the most relevant legislation, hearings, and actions by Congress involving international trade. The following are brief summaries of recent Capitol Hill actions:
The Justice Department has issued a press release announcing that Charles Jumet of Virginia was sentenced to 87 months in prison for paying bribes to former Panamanian government officials in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. DOJ states that this is the longest prison term imposed against an individual for violating the FCPA.