Issue link: https://digital.shearman.com/i/1389983
11 official in the South Korean Navy. He was ordered to forfeit $1.5 million and sentenced on May 19, 2021 to three years of probation. BERKO Asante Berko, who was charged by the SEC in 2020 for his alleged role in a bribery scheme to help his former employer, Goldman Sachs, finance and build a power plant in Ghana, settled his charges on June 23, 2021. He agreed to disgorge $275,000 and pay approximately $54,000 in prejudgment interest, for a total fine of $329,000. Goldman Sachs, which garnered substantial FCPA publicity last year related to the 1Mdb scandal, has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Berko's alleged actions. NEW INVESTIGATIONS As discussed above, the pipeline of FCPA investigations appears strong. In securities filings this year, nearly a dozen companies have disclosed inquiries by the U.S. authorities into alleged misconduct around the world. These include: Bombardier, a Canadian aircraft manufacturer, disclosed an inquiry from the DOJ over its relationship with an Indonesian airline whose CEO was sentenced to eight years in prison for taking kickbacks. Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited, a company headquartered in Greece that transports oil and gas, disclosed in April 2021 that the DOJ and SEC are investigating possible violations of the FCPA in Brazil in connection with charters entered into with Petrobras. Ormat Technologies, Inc., a geothermal power company based in Nevada, disclosed in its SEC filings that it has begun working with external counsel to investigate claims made by a short seller that the company violated anti-corruption laws and is providing information requested by the DOJ and SEC related to those claims. Smith & Nephew plc, a U.K. based medical device manufacturer, announced that it received a request for information from the SEC related to possible violations of anti-bribery laws in India. Grab, a Singaporean transportation and delivery company currently slated to merge with a SPAC to go public in the U.S., announced it voluntarily disclosed potential anti-corruption violations to the DOJ. Toyota Motor Corporation, the Japanese automaker, disclosed in public filings that it is cooperating with the DOJ and SEC related to conduct by its Thai subsidiary. Braskem S.A., a Brazilian petrochemical manufacturer that first appeared in our FCPA publication in 2016 because of its resolution with U.S. authorities of FCPA charges for its relationship with Brazilian officials, disclosed that it is investigating improper payments related to an ethylene project in Mexico. Scania, the Swedish truck and bus subsidiary of Volkswagen, may have discovered evidence that its employees in India bribed local officials; it informed the potential misconduct to the DOJ's external monitor related to Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal. Koninklijke Philips, a Dutch multinational, announced it is cooperating with U.S. authorities over potential compliance issues in Bulgaria. It had previously disclosed potential compliance concerns in Brazil and China as well. Cisco Systems, Inc., a California based networking company, disclosed an internal investigation into payments to employees of Chinese state-owned enterprises to the DOJ and SEC. CORPORATE ENFORCEMENT ACTION CLOSURES The first half of 2021 saw the completion of a number of post-enforcement action requirements. Panasonic Avionics Corporation, a U.S.-based subsidiary of a Japanese electronics company, completed its two-year FCPA monitorship in March. In 2018, in a dual enforcement action by the DOJ and SEC, the company agreed to pay $280 million to resolve charges it violated the FCPA in the Middle East. In connection with the monetary penalty, the company also agreed to impose an independent monitor to oversee its compliance program, which is now complete. Of note, there are now only three active FCPA monitorships: (1) Fresenius Medical; (2) Mobile Telesystems; and (3) Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson. On February 9, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the FCPA charges filed against Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. in 2018 as the company completed its DPA. The company, a U.S. medical device manufacturer, acquired Biomet, Inc. in 2015—three years after Biomet entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ for FCPA violations in Brazil, China, and Argentina. According to the DOJ, despite being aware of red flags and prior misconduct in Biomet's Mexican and Brazilian subsidiaries, and despite the 2012 DPA in connection with corruption in Brazil and other countries, the company knowingly failed to implement and maintain an adequate system of internal controls designed to detect and prevent bribery by its agents. In 2017, the DOJ announced it had entered into a three-year DPA with Biomet, which was finally dismissed this year. Similarly, on April 5, 2021, the District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed charges against Telia Company AB, a multinational telecom company headquartered in Sweden after it successfully completed its three-year DPA. According to the DOJ, Telia paid approximately $330 million in bribes between 2007 and 2010 to an Uzbek foreign official to enter and operate in