contract

Under FCPA, Former Siemens Executives Charged with ‘Stunning’ Bribes of Argentine Officials | National Law Journal

December 15, 2011 By Global EDD Group Leave a Comment

The biggest-ever Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case lives on with the announcement Dec. 13 that eight former executives and agents of Siemens AG have been charged with bribing officials in Argentina to get a $1 billion government contract.

The indictment comes three years after the German company paid a record $800 million to settle related FCPA charges brought by the Justice Department and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the company paid another $800 million to settle charges in Germany).

Among the individual Siemens executives facing civil and criminal charges is Uriel Sharef, a former member of Siemen’s central executive committee. It’s the first time a board member of a global Fortune 50 company has been charged with a FCPA violation, according to DOJ Criminal Division head Lanny Breuer, who described the scheme as “corruption on an absolutely stunning scale.”

According to the DOJ and SEC, the Siemens executives committed to pay $100 million in bribes to win a $1 billion contract to make national identity cards for the government of Argentina. The executives allegedly falsified documents including fake invoices and consulting contracts to hide the $60 million in bribes that the company actually paid out.

via Under FCPA, Former Siemens Executives Charged with ‘Stunning’ Bribes of Argentine Officials.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: bribes, contract, Executives, FCPA, foreign corrupt practices act, member, Siemens, siemens ag, Stunning, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

DLA Piper Drops Facebook Plaintiff – WSJ.com

June 29, 2011 By Global EDD Group Leave a Comment

Paul Ceglia, the man who claims he is entitled to a large stake in Facebook Inc., has been dropped as a client by the law firm DLA Piper, marking the latest twist in a battle over the origins of the social-networking company.

Robert Brownlie, the DLA Piper attorney representing Mr. Ceglia, wouldn’t say why his firm dropped the case. DLA Piper, one of the world’s largest firms, took on the case in April.

Mr. Ceglia has retained a new attorney, San Diego-based Jeffrey Lake, and is also represented by Paul Argentieri. Mr. Argentieri, based in Hornell, N.Y., said DLA Piper’s actions aren’t a setback in the case. “The case is going to get more critically interesting in a hurry for reasons that will be described later,” said Mr. Argentieri. He declined further explanation.

Mr. Ceglia, a New York state wood-pellet salesman, sued Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg in 2010. In his complaint, Mr. Ceglia alleged that Mr. Zuckerberg signed a contract in 2003 that gave Mr. Ceglia a stake in the company. Mr. Ceglia alleged he hired Mr. Zuckerberg, then a Harvard University student, to do work on StreetFax.com, an online database with information about street intersections. Mr. Ceglia alleged that as part of that contract, he agreed to invest $1,000 in the development of a Facebook site.

via DLA Piper Drops Facebook Plaintiff – WSJ.com.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: com, contract, dla piper, Drops, Facebook, harvard university, networking company, Piper, plaintiff, street intersections

Nathan Newman: Is Google Cruising Towards a Legal Meltdown?

April 14, 2011 By Global EDD Group Leave a Comment

Remember when the big financial companies were masters of the universe, making money hand-over-fist, and widely respected for their “innovation”? And then it all came crashing down in a financial crisis that exposed the fact that their profits were built on illegal or near-illegal shady dealings that were unsustainable — and when those subprime antics were removed undermined their whole business structure?

Enter Google, whose string of legal scandals could be taking it down a similar road.

This is company who’s former CEO, Eric Schmidt, described Google’s approach this way: ”There is what I call the creepy line. The Google policy on a lot of things is to get right up to the creepy line and not cross it.” The problem is that Google keeps crossing the line, both on the creepy and legal scale.

The latest example is a Department of Justice report that Google lied about having the proper government security certification when it applied for a multi-million dollar government contract to sell its Google Apps for a Government product to run email and online collaboration services for the Interior Department. During an investigation, the DOJ found that the product lacked what’s known as Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) certification, “notwithstanding Google’s representations to the public at large, its counsel, the GAO (Government Accountability Office) and this court.” Such misrepresentation in a government contract opens opens the company to significant legal liability, including potentially violation of the federal False Claims Act.

via Nathan Newman: Is Google Cruising Towards a Legal Meltdown?.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: Act, CEO Eric Schmidt, contract, creepy, Cruising, google apps, government accountability office, hand over fist, information security management, Legal

Three fired for accessing records of Tucson shooting victims – Computerworld

January 13, 2011 By Global EDD Group Leave a Comment

Three employees at Tucson’s University Medical Center have been fired for improperly accessing the medical records of some of the victims in last Saturday’s shooting spree outside an area mall that killed six people and wounded 13, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).

A nurse working under contract for the hospital has also been terminated by her employer, the medical center said in a brief statement on its Web site.

Many of the victims, including Giffords, are being treated at the hospital. One person, Jared Loughner, is in custody in connection with the shootings.

According to UMC, three clinical support staff members were caught inappropriately accessing the confidential electronic medical records of some of the victims. The three were fired “in accordance with UMC’s zero-tolerance policy on patient privacy violations.”

via Three fired for accessing records of Tucson shooting victims – Computerworld.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: clinical support staff, contract, gabrielle giffords, Rep, spree, support staff members, UMC, University, university medical center, zero tolerance policy

China Is The Risk. I See Clouds. : China Law Blog : China Law for Business

October 14, 2010 By Global EDD Group Leave a Comment

One of my main duties as a lawyer is to minimize risk. Properly forming/registering a Chinese entity minimizes risk. A great contract minimizes risk. Registering a company’s intellectual property minimizes risk. Written employment contracts and a written employer manual minimize risk. An FCPA compliance manual (usually part of the employer manual) minimizes risk. The list of how we help our clients reduce their risks goes on and on.

But there is only so much we lawyers can do.

There are certain risks on which we have little to no impact. We can write the world’s best contract, but if your Chinese counter-party is a crook without any real assets, he can breach the contract with impunity. Our registering your IP greatly reduces the likelihood of someone stealing it and makes it easier for you to sue them if they do, but it does not preclude anything. An FCPA compliance manual is not guaranteed to stop your employees from countermanding it.

Then there are the really big risks. We can tell you that doing something is legal today in China, but what is legal today may not be legal tomorrow. We had a client who purchased a relatively expensive building for a particular business and then within months, the local government made it illegal for foreigners to operate that particular business from a building they own.

And then there is the biggest risk of all: China itself.

Joseph Sternberg, the dead-bang brilliant and far too young (not sure he’s even 30 yet) Editor of the Business Asia column at The Wall Street Journal just came out with an article discussing China’s too-quick willingness to retaliate against whole countries or to act against their “own economic interests.”

The article is entitled, “Nobel Sentiments, Business Risks,” and its thesis is, essentially, that businesses should be taking lessons from China’s recent reactions to the way it has dealt with businesses from countries China perceives as having slighted it. These reactions give rise to “new questions . . . about policy risk in China.” They sure do.

via China Is The Risk. I See Clouds. : China Law Blog : China Law for Business.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: building, Business, china law, contract, dead bang, employer, employment contracts, entity, real assets, registering a company

Schlumberger Faces Bribery Probe – WSJ.com

October 8, 2010 By Global EDD Group Leave a Comment

The Justice Department has begun looking into allegations of possible bribery in Yemen several years ago by Schlumberger Ltd., the large oil-services company.

The allegations concern contract payments Schlumberger made to a consulting firm with ties to Yemen’s government at a time when Schlumberger sought approval to create an oil-exploration databank in Yemen, as described by two people familiar with the matter and by company documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The investigation is at an early stage. Investigators have been in touch with former Schlumberger employees who say they have knowledge of internal allegations made at the company, and of internal Schlumberger probes of those allegations, said people familiar with the matter.

Schlumberger compliance director Dianne Ralston said the company “has an embedded, robust culture of accountability and compliance, training our employees to report concerns, thoroughly investigating issues raised and taking appropriate action. This is a long-term commitment Schlumberger has made everywhere we operate around the world.” Justice Department investigators declined to comment.

via Schlumberger Faces Bribery Probe – WSJ.com.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: com, contract, justice department investigators, Ltd, matter, oil services company, Schlumberger, schlumberger employees, schlumberger ltd, wall street journal

H.P.’s Foreign Entanglement – NYTimes.com

September 14, 2010 By Global EDD Group Leave a Comment

The bribery investigation began in Russia in connection with a contract with a former German subsidiary of H.P. that involved the installation of a computer network in, of all places, Russia’s chief prosecutor’s office. Russian and German prosecutors are looking into the transaction, which took place from 2002 to 2006, and have requested documents from the company.

In its 10-Q, H.P. notes for the first time that the investigation is not limited to that one contract in Russia: “The U.S. enforcement authorities have recently requested information from H.P. relating to certain governmental and quasi-governmental transactions in Russia and in the Commonwealth of Independent States subregion dating back to 2000.”

It is not clear how many contracts or transactions may be involved, but the expanded time frame and geographic scope probably means the inquiry will be an extended one, rather than something H.P. can wrap up quickly. As sometimes happens, once one part of a multinational company is scrutinized for bribery, problems in other areas can pop to the surface.

The recent settlement by Siemens of overseas bribery charges shows how corruption can spread throughout a company. Subsidiaries operating in France, Argentina, Turkey and the Middle East were found to have paid bribes to obtain contracts, and Siemens paid $800 million in criminal fines to the Justice Department and disgorgement to the S.E.C. as part of the settlement.

via H.P.’s Foreign Entanglement – NYTimes.com.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: bribery charges, chief prosecutor, com, commonwealth of independent states, connection, contract, Entanglement, german prosecutors, german subsidiary, settlement

Government expands HP bribery probe | Politics and Law – CNET News

September 12, 2010 By Global EDD Group Leave a Comment

The U.S. government has widened its probe into possible bribes paid by Hewlett-Packard to help it capture a lucrative contract in Russia.

Officials in the U.S., Germany, and Russia have been investigating allegations that current and former employees of HP engaged in bribery, embezzlement, and tax evasion in connection with a business deal between Hewlett-Packard ISE GmbH, a former HP German subsidiary, and the chief public prosecutor’s office in Russia, according to an SEC document filed by HP on Thursday (see Note 16 under Russia GPO and Related Investigations).

According to the allegations, the HP subsidiary paid bribes totaling $10.9 million to win a $44.5 million contract stretching from 2001 to 2006 to set up an IT network for the Russian prosecutor’s office. Looking into the transaction, known as the Russia GPO deal, the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are trying to determine if HP violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which specifically covers bribes paid to foreign government officials.

via Government expands HP bribery probe | Politics and Law – CNET News.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: contract, corrupt practices act, foreign corrupt practices act fcpa, foreign government officials, news, office, probe, prosecutor, russia officials, russian prosecutor

Litigation: E-mails, Texts, and Tweets: Killer Evidence

August 1, 2010 By Global EDD Group Leave a Comment

Time and again, in jury research and in juror interviews following verdicts, contemporaneous writings by persons with the closest relationship to the litigated dispute—those who negotiated or implemented the contract, who made the employment termination decision, who engaged in price negotiations, and the like—receive dispositive weight. Internal memos, e-mails, text messages and even postings on social media have overridden percipient testimony no matter how credible.

For a defendant, these types of documents can be the most dangerous. This difficult lesson must be taken seriously..Managers and employees need to understand that their casual communications take on an entirely different appearance when they are written and preserved and then viewed years later, possibly out of context. Indeed, e-mails that reflect intent trump, in jurors’ minds, the actual wording of contracts or the testimony of management who have made important decisions for the company. In addition, e-mails tend to be forwarded to unintended recipients and are unlikely to be deleted from all of the places that they end up. They are almost invariably viewed by outsiders, including jurors, as a true glimpse into the inner thoughts of the sender. From a corporate perspective, e-mails are best used only to convey objective information without judgmental or colorful additions. So what can be done?

via Litigation: E-mails, Texts, and Tweets: Killer Evidence.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: contract, corporate perspective, dispute, Employment, internal memos, juror interviews, price negotiations, termination, Texts, true glimpse

Facebook Suspects Ceglia Contract Was Forged — Facebook — InformationWeek

July 26, 2010 By Global EDD Group Leave a Comment

Facebook says it suspects a contract that allegedly entitles a New York web designer to an 84% stake in the company is a forgery.

Facebook, which typically doesn’t discuss pending litigation, issued the unusual statement to media Friday. The world’s largest online social network is battling a lawsuit filed by Paul Ceglia, who claims Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg signed the contract in April 2003.

“Mark Zuckerberg has made it clear that Ceglia’s claims are absurd and we strongly suspect the contract is forged,” the statement released by Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said. “However, we have not seen the original — no one has, including the court. “Thus, we’re focusing on the things that are not open to interpretation and are indisputable. Mark could not have given interest in a company that didn’t exist or an idea he had not thought of yet. And, even if he could, the statute of limitations has expired.”

via Facebook Suspects Ceglia Contract Was Forged — Facebook — InformationWeek.

Filed Under: From The News Tagged With: andrew noyes, contract, designer, Facebook, Forged, mark zuckerberg, open to interpretation, Web, york web