FCPA & International Anti-Corruption

• Four Members of our practice have served as Independent Compliance Monitors, their deputies, or U.S counsel in the wake of FCPA resolutions by companies: Homer E. Moyer, Jr. (Titan), Kathryn Cameron Atkinson (twice: KBR and Zimmer Biomet), John E. Davis (Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM)), and Sandra M. Hanna (VimpelCom). In addition, Alejandra Montenegro Almonte served as deputy in for the SQM monitorship and is Monitor in a non-FCPA matter with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. These engagements require extensive U.S. agency vetting and sign-off as to the Monitor's experience and suitability and require efficient yet comprehensive reviews of corporate compliance programs and the exercise of independent judgment in balancing the goals of the company and the agencies.
  • Kathryn Cameron Atkinson was appointed to serve as Independent Compliance Monitor for medical technology company Zimmer Biomet pursuant to an FCPA DPA arising out of conduct in Latin America. The scope of the Monitor's work was global, given the company's world-wide operations. Monitorship team members draw upon their Spanish, Portuguese, and Mandarin Chinese language skills for on-the-ground interviews during compliance assessments conducted in various countries. The work involved evaluation of all aspects of the compliance program and related internal accounting controls, including evaluation of investigation and audit practices, and regular coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 
  • John E. Davis was appointed to act as Independent Compliance Monitor for Chilean mining company SQM pursuant to an FCPA disposition and Alejandra Montenegro Almonte served as deputy. The scope of the Monitor's work was global, not limited to Latin America, as SQM is a U.S. issuer and thus subject to multiple anti-corruption and other relevant laws. The monitorship team evaluated all aspects of company's compliance program, including risk assessment methodologies, protocols for and execution of internal investigations and responses to external government inquiries, and related internal controls. The team recommended program enhancements and improvements, and the company received certifications from the U.S. agencies in 2019.
  • Sandra M. Hanna has significant experience serving as the deputy to the Independent Corporate Monitor, or advisor to the Monitor, in settled resolutions with the DOJ and SEC in both FCPA and securities matters, including in the VimpelCom disposition.
• Miller & Chevalier is advising and representing a multinational company in connection with its obligations under an ongoing DPA before the DOJ, SEC, and Southern District of New York (SDNY), including assisting with advice on DPA compliance, internal investigations, third party due diligence processes and reviews, and mergers & acquisitions (M&A) transactions, in the context of DPA obligations and a monitorship. The team benefits from its extensive investigations and compliance experience in the industry and in specific high-risk regions, leveraging its cultural and language skills that include Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, French, Ukrainian, Belarussian, Bulgarian, Arabic, and Turkish. Case issues have included ensuring compliance with DPA obligations, compliance and controls improvements, interactions with the client's Independent Compliance Monitor, and conducting investigations.
• We have handled multiple matters for a global provider of drilling services, including:
  • Conducting an independent investigation into the company's historical relationship with Petrobras as part of the global Lava Jato corruption investigation in Brazil. Both U.S. agencies that reviewed these issues closed their respective investigations into the client with no enforcement action.
  • Assisting with multiple due diligence reviews and compliance integrations of acquisition targets and joint venture partners, including an acquisition valued and over $2 billion, and joint venture partners in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Ghana, and potential partners in Libya and Nigeria.
• We have conducted multiple internal investigations of and given compliance advice related to portfolio companies for a $38 billion global private equity firm investing in oil and gas and alternative energy sectors, focused on Latin America, Africa, and Europe.
• For a U.S.-based energy company, auditing anti-corruption compliance practices in its Mexican operations in anticipation of a formal audit conducted by the new presidential administration of Mexico. 
• For a Mexican energy infrastructure development company, performing a corruption risk assessment, drafting anti-corruption compliance policies, conducting anti-corruption compliance trainings, performing due diligence on third party agents and local business partners, and managing FCPA issues as they arise. 
• For the first private Mexico-based oil and gas exploration company, building its anti-corruption compliance program and managing FCPA risks when they arise. The work has included vetting a business partner for corruption risks, negotiating compliance provisions in a venture agreement with that partner, conducting formal risk assessments, performing compliance trainings, and conducting third-party due diligence.
• We are representing a Swiss national and private wealth advisor (Daisy Rafoi-Bleuler), who was arrested in Italy on an Interpol Red Notice issued by the U.S. In response to the U.S.'s efforts to extradite the client in relation to an FCPA and money laundering scandal involving the Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A (PDVSA), engaged in litigation resulting in a Houston federal district court decision dismissing the indictment against the client, citing jurisdictional issues. We are currently litigating the DOJ's appeal of that decision.  
• We conducted an internal investigation for a manufacturing company in an FCPA-related matter focused on China and Southeast Asia implicating applicable laws in multiple jurisdictions. We represented the company related to its disclosure of the matter to U.S. authorities and the resulting U.S. government investigation, which ended when the authorities decided to take no action. As part of remediation activities related to the results of the investigations, we performed a global compliance risk assessment and advised on updates to company's anti-corruption compliance program.
• We conducted a review of a Fortune 100 information technology company's global anti-corruption program against applicable statutory standards and best practices, with the goal of tailoring the compliance program to fit the company's needs following a corporate restructuring. Following the compliance program review, the firm assisted with updating and modifying the company's enhanced due diligence program. The firm has also been retained as one of the company's anti-corruption counsel and advised on a range of specific third party issues.
• The firm represented a large oil and gas company in responding to inquiries from the SEC and DOJ related to business in an African country, in conjunction with an inquiry from a foreign regulatory authority regarding similar issues.
• We represented an executive in an extensive FCPA investigation regarding public contracting in Venezuela. The client cooperated with enforcement authorities and assisted in the prosecution of several of his co-conspirators and pleaded guilty to FCPA related offenses.  He avoided prison and was sentenced to probation.
• In December 2019, Homer Moyer testified as an expert witness on behalf of Royal Dutch Shell in a criminal trial in Milan, Italy. Mr. Moyer testified regarding Shell's anti-corruption compliance program in 2008-2011, including the extent to which the program complied with applicable best practices and legal requirements for anti-corruption compliance programs, and the program’s relevance to defenses under Italian laws. Royal Dutch Shell ultimately was acquitted at trial.
• We conducted a challenging investigation, on behalf of VEON (formerly VimpelCom), a major European telecommunications company, into activities in the ECA region, with the investigation including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Armenia, Russia, and other countries, as well as investigations by the U.S., Sweden, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. In addition to conducting the investigation, our team was lead counsel in negotiating one of the most significant resolutions since the passage of the FCPA and assisted the company throughout its three-year monitorship, which was successfully completed in 2020.
• Miller & Chevalier successfully served as U.S. counsel to U.K. seismic company Guralp Systems Limited (GSL) relating to its simultaneous disclosure to the DOJ and SFO of past corrupt payments to a South Korean official. Following the disclosure and cooperation of GSL, the DOJ subsequently launched an investigation that resulted in the arrest and conviction on money laundering charges of the South Korean official. Miller & Chevalier then represented GSL's executive chairman as a key witness in connection with the subsequent trial. Given its prompt disclosure and cooperation with the DOJ in its investigation, in August 2018 the DOJ issued a declination letter to GSL with no penalties or fines paid in the U.S.
• We were retained by the Audit Committee of one of the four principal oil and gas companies in Latin America to conduct an internal investigation into allegations by local prosecutors of approximately $4 billion in cost overruns in connection with the construction of a refinery by one of its subsidiaries, which included a focus on FCPA internal controls considerations and FCPA compliance remediation support. 

Our region-focused practice group pages for Asia-Pacific, Europe-Caucasus-Asia, and Latin America list other matters we have handled in those countries.  

• General Counsel, U.S. Department of Commerce
• Counselor to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce
• Deputy General Counsel, U.S. Department of Commerce
• Director, Office of International Affairs, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Jersey 
• Trial Attorney, Fraud Section, U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division
• Trial Attorney, Office of International Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice
• Trial Chief, Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia
• Senior Adviser for International Issues to SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• Deputy Director, Office of International Affairs, U.S Securities and Exchange Commission
• Assistant Director, Office of International Affairs, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maryland
• Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel, Division of Enforcement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• Investigations and Litigations Specialist, The World Bank's Integrity Vice Presidency
• Investigative Consultant, Inter-American Development Bank Office of Institutional Integrity (OII)

• Division General Counsel, gategroup
• Compliance Director, Latin America Region, and Global Enterprise Risk Counsel, Avon
• Senior Regional Counsel, Latin America, Citibank
• In-house Counsel, Monómeros Colombo Venezolanos, S.A
• General Counsel, SAIC General Motors Corporation Limited, Shanghai, China
• Lead Counsel, Global Compliance, General Motors Company
• Executive Director, Special Investigations & Anti-Corruption, General Motors Company
   

Chambers USA

• Corporate Crime & Investigations: The Elite (USA-Nationwide), 2021 - 2023
• Corporate Crime & Investigations (USA-Nationwide), 2015 - 2020
• FCPA (USA-Nationwide), 2014 - 2023
• International Trade (USA-Nationwide), 2005 - 2015

Chambers Global

• Brazil Corporate Crime & Investigations (International Firms), 2023
• Corporate Crime & Investigations (Latin America-International Counsel), 2015 - 2023
• Corporate Crime & Investigations (USA), 2016 - 2023
• Corporate Investigations/Anti-Corruption (Global: Multi-Jurisdictional), 2017 - 2023
• FCPA (USA), 2015 - 2023
• Investigations & Enforcement (International & Cross-Border) (USA), 2020 - 2023

Chambers Latin America

• Corporate Crime & Investigations (International Counsel), 2015 - 2024
• 2017 Corporate Investigations Law Firm of the Year

Chambers Brazil

• Corporate Crime & Investigations (International Counsel), 2022

Global Investigations Review

• GIR 30 Top Global Investigations Practice, 2015 - 2022
• Boutique or Regional Practice of the Year, 2016 
• "Elite" in Washington, DC's FCPA Bar, 2016

Legal 500

• Dispute Resolution: International Trade (U.S.), 2011, 2013 - 2022

Legal 500 Latin America

• International Firms: Compliance and Investigations, 2021 - 2024

Latinvex

• Top 10 Latin American FCPA & Fraud Firm, 2015 - 2023

Latin Lawyer

• Anti-Corruption Survey, Top Law Firm, 2013

U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms"

• International Trade and Finance Law (District of Columbia), 2011 - 2024
• International Trade and Finance Law (National), 2011 - 2024

Main Justice

• Best FCPA Lawyers Client Service Award, Distinguished Service Award:  Compliance Champions, 2013