{"id":201,"date":"2013-04-26T00:07:27","date_gmt":"2013-04-26T00:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kierjoffe.com\/news\/?p=201"},"modified":"2018-07-19T15:38:15","modified_gmt":"2018-07-19T18:38:15","slug":"argentina-ralph-lauren-outed-its-subsidiarys-bribery-and-set-an-example-for-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kierjoffe.com\/news\/lawyer-argentina-attorney-buenos-aires-law-firm\/argentina-ralph-lauren-outed-its-subsidiarys-bribery-and-set-an-example-for-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Argentina: Ralph Lauren Outed Its Subsidiary’s Bribery and Set an Example for All"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forbes.com – by\u00a0Jonathan Green\u00a0&\u00a0James L. Athas
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

In 2010, while working to enhance its worldwide internal controls and compliance program,\u00a0Ralph Lauren<\/a>\u00a0Corporation discovered evidence that its Argentine subsidiary had been paying bribes to government officials in Argentina. The bribes, paid through customs brokers, facilitated the entry of RL\u2019s products into the country without necessary paperwork and avoidance of inspections of prohibited products. The bribes were disguised, along with other legitimate charges, as \u201cloading and delivery expenses\u201d and \u201cstamp tax\/label tax\u201d on invoices submitted by a local customs broker to RL\u2019s general manager in Argentina.<\/p>\n

Between 2005 and 2009 RL paid approximately $568,000 in bribes to Argentine officials.\u00a0 Its general manager also provided or authorized gifts to three different government officials, including perfume, dresses, and handbags valued at $400 to $14,000 each, to secure the importation of RL\u2019s products into Argentina.<\/p>\n

The challenges RL encountered in Argentina are similar to those encountered by many companies operating internationally, as general counsel and compliance officers everywhere well know. The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have not hesitated in pursuing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases against companies involved in such conduct.<\/p>\n

RL didn\u2019t act perfectly (it had, for example, little anti-corruption training or oversight in Argentina before 2010), but once under investigation it served as a model for any other company that faces such challenges in the future. It addressed the issues head on, by:<\/p>\n

(1) Terminating its customs broker,
\n(2) revising its anti-corruption policy and translating the policy into eight languages,
\n(3) increasing its due diligence procedures for third parties,
\n(4) implementing more stringent commission and gifts policies,
\n(5) conducting in-person anticorruption training for certain employees, and, most significantly,
\n(6) ceasing retail sales in Argentina and winding down all of its operations there.<\/p>\n

In addition, upon learning of the misconduct RL promptly\u2014within two weeks\u2014reported the violations to the SEC and the Justice Department, voluntarily and expeditiously produced documents and transcripts from interviews (translated into English), and otherwise cooperated in investigations by both. RL even made its overseas witnesses available for SEC interviews and brought them to the U.S.<\/p>\n

According to the SEC\u2019s acting director of enforcement, RL\u2019s timely and thorough cooperation resulted in \u201csubstantial and tangible benefits\u201d for the company, including non-prosecution agreements with both the SEC and the Justice Department. In sum, RL agreed to pay more than $700,000 in disgorgement and interest to the SEC, and $882,000 in penalties to the DOJ. These amounts are not insignificant, but they are significantly better than the company might otherwise have faced for a five-year bribery scheme involving hundreds of thousands of dollars. Most important, the company will not face charges and can now put the matter behind it.<\/p>\n

This is not the first time the government has gone out of its way to encourage cooperation and praise robust compliance programs. In 2012 the SEC and the Justice Department publicly declined to bring enforcement actions against\u00a0Morgan Stanley<\/a>\u00a0MS\u00a0+0.64%<\/a>\u00a0after one of its employees bribed a Chinese government official in violation of the FCPA. That decision was the result, in large part, of the fact that \u201cMorgan Stanley constructed and maintained a system of internal controls, which provided reasonable assurances that its employees were not bribing government officials.\u201d Government officials similarly lauded Morgan Stanley\u2019s cooperation and thorough internal investigation in the case.<\/p>\n

The lesson to be learned from RL\u2019s recent experience is that a vigilant (re)assessment of one\u2019s anticorruption policies and swift action and cooperation when any misconduct is discovered will continue to be the height of fashion\u2014and function\u2014regarding the FCPA.<\/p>\n

The proven Buenos Aires \u2013 Argentina lawyer professionals at the\u00a0Kier Joffe law firm<\/a>\u00a0have experience working with foreign clients involved in all kind of cases\u00a0in Argentina.\u00a0Buenos Aires Argentina attorney<\/a>\u00a0professionals are knowledgeable in almost all the practice areas of law, to service its international cases in Buenos Aires Argentina. International clients will have the confidence of knowing that the case is being handled by an experienced and knowledgeable Buenos Aires \u00a0lawyer in Argentina.<\/p>\n

www.kierjoffe.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Forbes.com – by\u00a0Jonathan Green\u00a0&\u00a0James L. Athas In 2010, while working to enhance its worldwide internal controls and compliance program,\u00a0Ralph Lauren\u00a0Corporation discovered evidence that its Argentine subsidiary had been paying bribes to government officials in Argentina. The bribes, paid through customs brokers, facilitated the entry of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[12,7,11,8,9,6,10],"class_list":["post-201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english","tag-argentina","tag-attorney","tag-buenos-aires","tag-law-firm","tag-law-office","tag-lawyer","tag-legal"],"yoast_head":"\nArgentina: Ralph Lauren Outed Its Subsidiary's Bribery and Set an Example for All - News and Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kierjoffe.com\/news\/lawyer-argentina-attorney-buenos-aires-law-firm\/argentina-ralph-lauren-outed-its-subsidiarys-bribery-and-set-an-example-for-all\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Argentina: Ralph Lauren Outed Its Subsidiary's Bribery and Set an Example for All - News and Articles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Forbes.com – by\u00a0Jonathan Green\u00a0&\u00a0James L. Athas In 2010, while working to enhance its worldwide internal controls and compliance program,\u00a0Ralph Lauren\u00a0Corporation discovered evidence that its Argentine subsidiary had been paying bribes to government officials in Argentina. 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