Month in a Minute: Developments in Anti-Corruption

Hughes Hubbard’s anti-corruption “Month in a Minute” offers a quick look-back at the biggest foreign corruption-related developments from the prior month. The Month in a Minute is intended to provide a quick snapshot of the latest news and developments. 

Monthly Newsletters

March and April 2025 

Highlights from March and April 2025 include developments in the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission’s plans for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement, the termination of Glencore’s monitorships, a dismissal for Cognizant executives and several decisions on pending FCPA cases.

February 2025 

Highlights from February 2025 include an executive order pausing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement by the U.S. Department of Justice and a related delay in the trial of two former Cognizant executives.

January 2025

Highlights from January 2025 include a final judgment in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act related forfeiture action and a Connecticut oil trader’s attempt to seek acquittal or retrial for bribery charges.

December 2024

Highlights from December 2024 include a deferred prosecution agreement involving a McKinsey subsidiary and parallel U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission resolutions for AAR for misconduct in Nepal and South Africa.

November 2024

Highlights from November 2024 include deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) for a Venezuelan telecommunications operator and former Chinese sports betting company, and indictments related to a bribery scheme in India.

October 2024

Highlights from October 2024 include an SEC fine for a New York-based defense contractor, another sentencing in the PDVSA bribery scheme, resolutions for RTX, and the sentencing of an individual involved in the Petrobras scheme.

September 2024

Highlights from September 2024 include a resolution for John Deere, updated corporate compliance guidance from the DOJ, and a conviction in the Petrobras bribery scheme.

August 2024

Highlights from August 2024 include a guilty plea by a former airline executive, charges against a former Philippine election official and executives at voting machine company, Smartmatic, a guilty plea for a former Vitol trader, and a declination for the Boston Consulting Group.

July 2024

Highlights from July 2024 include a loss for a Petrobras co-conspirator, a guilty plea and exposure of a bribery scheme involving a state-owned airline in South Africa, an amendment to FEPA, and the announcement of a new DOJ whistleblower program.

June 2024

Highlights from June 2024 include the denial of an extradition appeal for an ex-Goldman Sachs executive, the recovery and return of additional 1MDB funds, and a guilty plea related to the Petrobras bribery scheme.

May 2024

Highlights from May 2024 include several PDVSA-related guilty pleas and sentencings.

April 2024

Highlights from April 2024 include a new DOJ pilot program, the settlement of an investor suit for Tenaris, and a guilty verdict for the former comptroller of Ecuador.

March 2024

Highlights from March 2024 include a guilty plea for Gunvor Group, a new DOJ whistleblower program, an indictment for a Stericycle executive, and a guilty plea for international commodities trader, Trafigura.

February 2024

Highlights from February 2024 include no criminal charges for a multinational insurance broker, cooperation credit for a Venezuelan citizen, a guilty plea by a former Stericycle VP, and a guilty verdict for former Vitol trader, Javier Aguilar.

January 2024

Highlights from January 2024 include the beginning of a trial for a former Vitol Trader, a coordinated FCPA resolution for German software company SAP SE, a new whistleblower program out of the Southern District of New York, and probation for a PDVSA-related defendant.

December 2023

Highlights from December 2023 include a new law tackling the demand-side of foreign bribery, a resolution to FCPA charges against a Connecticut trading company, a return of recovered 1MDB funds to Malaysia, and the deferral of a decision in a case related to the FIFA bribery scheme.

November 2023

Highlights from November 2023 include probation for a 1MDB conspirator, a corporate declination, DPAs for two FCPA violators, a Speedy Trial dismissal, and a new DOJ anti-bribery initiative.

October 2023

Highlights from October 2023 include a new M&A safe harbor policy from the DOJ, an extradition to Malaysia in the 1MDB saga, a denial of dismissal for two alleged PDVSA conspirators, a new chief of the DOJ’s foreign bribery unit, and a DOJ Opinion Procedure Release.

September 2023

Highlights from September 2023 include two corporate resolutions, acquittals for FIFA defendants, a sentence for a Canadian citizen involved in a bribery scheme, and charges against a Venezuelan intermediary. 

August 2023

Highlights from a busy August 2023 include a DOJ Opinion Procedure Release about sponsored travel of government officials, new charges against former Vitol trader Javier Aguilar in Texas, a jail-time sentence and forfeiture order for a former PDVSA director, the dismissal of charges against Airbus, two corporate resolutions of FCPA charges, and a new indictment related to bribery at Petrobras.

July 2023

July 2023 highlights included a renewed effort by Congress to potentially close a perceived gap in the scope of the FCPA, denials of motions to suppress certain evidence in two separate FCPA-related prosecutions, an important decision by a district judge in New Jersey regarding the implications of internal investigations conducted while cooperating with the government, a development in the ongoing 1MDB saga, and an expedited appeal of the dismissal of an FCPA case in the Fifth Circuit. Plus, Barbenheimer

June 2023

Welcome to this month’s installment of Hughes Hubbard’s anti-corruption “Month in a Minute,” which offers a quick look-back at the biggest foreign corruption-related developments from the prior month. June 2023 highlights included the dismissal of FCPA claims against a foreign citizen, developments regarding the DOJ’s corporate crime database, the sentencing of PDVSA’s former general counsel, and the DOJ’s success at severing a foreign bribery charge in its case against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. 

May 2023

May 2023 highlights included court rulings and sentencings, a change at the top of the DOJ FCPA Unit, a massive SEC whistleblower award, and a couple of SEC corporate resolutions.