DOJ picked co-managing partner of Jenner & Block, Katya Jestin, and Ropes & Gray partner Alex Rene to serve as independent monitors for Swiss commodity trading and mining giant Glencore under the company's guilty plea agreement for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (see 2205270044). The tenure of monitors will run for three years as part of the resolution struck in May 2022. Jestin will lead a team of Jenner & Block attorneys as they review the company's market integrity compliance, while Rene will head up a unit looking into Glencore's FCPA compliance.

Igor Panchernikov, a California resident and former member of the U.S. military, was sentenced to 27 months in prison for conspiring to illegally export defense items to Russia in violation of the Arms Export Control Act, DOJ announced last week. Panchernikov was charged in 2021 as part of a five-person scheme to ship thermal imaging rifle scopes and night-vision goggles to Russia (see 2106220012).

South Korean company Anyclo International pleaded guilty to evading customs duties on clothing it imported, agreeing to a civil settlement with the U.S. under which it will pay $2.05 million to the U.S. in restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced. A $250,000 criminal fine also was levied. Anyclo will pay the settlement, plus interest, over 15 months to resolve potential charges under the False Claims Act.

Canadian company FeelGood Natural Health Stores pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act by exporting and selling harp seal oil capsules in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the DOJ announced. The company faces a maximum fine of $500,000 and five years' probation. However, as part of the plea deal, the U.S. and FeelGood recommended a $20,000 fine and three years' probation during which the firm "must create and implement a compliance plan, train its employees, obtain any necessary licenses, and cooperate fully with the government."

Technological research firm Gartner settled charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, agreeing to pay over $2.5 million, the SEC said in a May 26 order implementing cease-and-desist proceedings. The company allegedly bribed officials of the South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) to "obtain and retain business from" SARS. The SEC said a manager of Gartner's consulting wing authorized the firm to enter into subcontracts with an unnamed South African information technology consulting firm, adding that the manager either knew or disregarded the possibility that the money paid to the tech firm would be paid to the SARS officials in exchange for contracts. Under the settlement, the company will pay $1.6 million in civil penalties, $675,974 in disgorgement and $180,790 in prejudgment interest.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York dismissed a suit from a group of investors that accused Ericsson of misleading them about elements of a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act proceeding. Judge William Kuntz sided with Ericsson, ruling that the investors failed to claim that the company made misstatements since the alleged lies were "immaterial as a matter of law" or not false when made (In Re Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson Securities Litigation, E.D.N.Y. # 22-1167).

Ross Roggio of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, was convicted for a host of crimes including illegally shipping export-controlled firearms parts to Iraq and operating an illegal weapons manufacturing plant in Kurdistan, DOJ announced. Roggio was also convicted of torture and for arranging for Kurdish soldiers to abduct an Estonian citizen and detain him at a Kurdish military compound, where Roggio tortured the man. The victim worked at a weapons factory Roggio was developing in Iraq to manufacture M4 rifles and Glock pistols.

Cary Yan, former president of a New York-based non-governmental organization, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison for paying bribes to Marshall Islands officials in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, DOJ announced. Yan conspired with his assistant, Gina Zhou, as part of a bribery scheme to pass legislation that would benefit Yan's business interests. Zhou was sentenced in February to two years and seven months in prison.

DOJ this week unsealed indictments of six people for trying to illegally ship sensitive items from the U.S., including shipments of dual-use technologies and aircraft parts to Russia, isostatic graphite to Iran and trade secrets to China. The charges are the first enforcement actions brought by the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, a group launched by DOJ and the Commerce Department in February to investigate and prosecute criminal export violations (see 2302160019).

Amsterdam-based multinational conglomerate Koninklijke Philips will pay more than $62 million to settle charges it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act related to its sales of medical diagnostic equipment in China, the SEC announced. Without admitting guilt, Philips agreed to pay $15 million in civil penalties and over $47 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest.