DOJ To Avoid “Piling On” FCPA Penalties Via Offsets

On May 9 the DOJ announced a new policy concerning the coordination of penalties imposed by more than one regulator or authority in corporate resolutions. It will have the effect of avoiding the imposition of redundant fines and penalties caused by a lack of coordination among enforcement authorities. The FCPA blog provides an example of how the policy will work. It notes that in recent settlements the DOJ has provided companies with substantial credit for payments made to foreign authorities. In a settlement with Keppel Offshore Marine last December, which Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein referenced when announcing the new policy, penalties of $211 million paid to Brazil and $105.6 million paid to Singapore were credited as offsets to DOJ penalties. Another settlement, outside the FCPA arena, illustrates the policy’s impact. The proposed settlement between Royal Bank of Scotland and the DOJ Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Task Force is for less than half of what analysts predicted.