DOJ: Expect more multinational financial fraud investigations

Expect multinational investigations to continue, said the government’s top watchdog on fraud.  

At the Practicing Law Institute’s 14th Annual Institute on Securities Regulations in Europe on Monday, U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Sung-Hee Suh said the Department of Justice is cracking down on financial fraud at publicly traded corporations and large financial institutions in the U.S. and abroad. 

“The prosecution of individuals — including corporate executives — for criminal wrongdoing continues to be a high priority for the department,” said Suh, according to prepared remarks. “That is not to say that we will be looking to charge individuals to the exclusion of corporations.” 

Since 2009, the DOJ said it has convicted 50 people of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and has resolved cases against 59 companies with penalties and forfeitures at nearly $4 billion. 

“In working with our foreign counterparts, we have developed growing sophistication and experience in a variety of areas, including analyzing foreign data privacy laws and corporations’ claims that overseas documents cannot be provided to investigators in the United States,” Suh said.

In coordinating with foreign counterparts on these investigations, Suh said the DOJ is willing to also coordinate its resolutions and account for the corporate monetary penalties paid in other jurisdictions when appropriate.

“You should expect to see these meaningful, multinational investigations and prosecutions of corporations and individuals to continue,” she said.