Charles Connolly Quoted by Bloomberg News on Petrobras Probe
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In the Bloomberg News article “Petrobras Corruption Investigation Said to Ramp Up in U.S.,” Akin Gump litigation partner Charles Connolly is quoted on the justification for U.S. authorities to investigate non-U.S. companies.
The article follows the probe by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run oil company, over allegations of international bribery. Authorities in the United States, according to the article, have been speaking with their counterparts in Brazil exchanging documents and other information.
A case against Petrobras and other public companies could be brought in Virginia because filings with the SEC are sent to a server located in the state, said Connolly, a former federal prosecutor. He said that has allowed prosecutors in the past to bring cases against non-U.S. companies under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, such as one against French oil company Total SA in 2013. Total SA paid $398 million in penalties to settle bribery allegations. “It allows the Department of Justice on a securities fraud theory to get venue over a company whose ties to the U.S. are the filings it makes,” Connolly noted.
