In the US, mention football and we think about pigskin, tailgating, fantasy teams, and the Superbowl.
But to the rest of the world, football means soccer. And it’s a serious business with the world’s largest fan base. It’s also a business with a serious scandal involving its top executives.
Many Americans equate soccer with vans, juice packs, and Saturday mornings in the park with their kids. The professional sport is as foreign to us as American football is to the rest of the world. But even though we may not completely understand the sport or its governing body, FIFA, we recognize a major corporate scandal when we see one.
Picture it: an elegant hotel in the refined city of Zurich. Suddenly, there’s an early morning raid. Seven top soccer officials are escorted out of the hotel and are suddenly en route to the US to face corruption charges.
FIFA is embroiled in an epic scandal involving corporate bribery to the tune of more than $150 million. US Attorney General Loretta Lynch maintains that FIFA executives and other co-conspirators – a total of 47 individuals -- used bribes to influence the decision to hold the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 and to get kickbacks for media and marketing rights.
Ironically, most of these alleged crimes were neither committed in the United States nor by a US citizen.
Most large American companies have mandatory annual Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) training. Unfortunately, it's hard for the average American employee to understand why FCPA is important, and how it may impact them personally. Think about it: only 36% of Americans hold a valid passport, so it’s likely that many of your US-based employees never even leave the country.
The FIFA prosecution is an excellent case study for your FCPA training.
Why is the US prosecuting?
It’s surprising to many Americans that the US Attorney General is taking FIFA on. After all, that’s not our type of football, so why should our taxpayer money be used to prosecute international soccer executives?
The answer is quite simple. Unlike many other countries we have the laws to support the prosecution. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was passed in 1977 and allows the US to target foreign citizens for crimes committed overseas as long as the foreign citizens have some ties to America. FCPA can be far reaching. For example, FCPA can be triggered if an American internet provider or bank is involved. It’s still unclear how FCPA relates to the FIFA indictment, but it’s possible that some US sportswear companies were involved in bribery.
We’re Experienced
We also have a lot of experience investigating organized crime, drug cartels, and corporate graft. We’re home to the Bernie Madoff, HealthSouth, Stanford Financial, Tyco, Enron, Worldcom, Arthur Anderson, Adelphia Communications, Global Crossing, and many, many other corporate bribery and corruption cases.
Our Justice Department has gotten very good at following the money. We’re used to seeing our fallen corporate titans marching up the courthouse steps in handcuffs.
The Law
We’ve had whistleblower laws in the US for over a hundred years. The first False Claims Act (Lincoln’s Law) was passed in 1863 in response to unscrupulous federal contractors who sold the US Army faulty equipment, sick animals, and rancid provisions. We passed SEC laws in the 1930s in response to the 1929 stock market crash and resulting Great Depression. But it wasn’t until the Enron and Worldcom bankruptcies, and Arthur Andersen’s spectacular demise, that corporate governance became a really big deal.
Sarbanes-Oaxley was passed in 2002. As American companies continued to expand their international operations, FCPA training became front and center.
Do you work at a large, publicly traded company? Have you ever wondered why you have to take an annual training module that reminds you that it’s illegal to bribe foreign officials, even if that’s “the way things are done” in another country? Blame it on FCRA. Even if you don’t hold a passport, any transactions that pass through the US fall under FICA.
The Corporate Lesson
FIFA officials are getting ready to spend some quality time with FBI agents, US Marshals, and federal prosecutors. The FIFA brand is irrevocably damaged. There is a bright side, though. So far the Texas Rangers haven’t been called in to assist with the investigation.
Here are a few tips to help keep those law enforcement officials at bay:
- Keep your door open and give whistleblowers a warm welcome. Remember that it often takes a lot of soul searching and courage to blow that whistle.
- Listen to employees and contractors when they tell you that they are uncomfortable with an alleged bribe, fraudulent transaction, or other potential illegal activity.
- Remember that our US Marshalls and FBI agents are really friendly folks. So, if you don’t take the whistleblower/complainant seriously, someone else will. Our government investigators are always willing to make new friends.
- Start investigating immediately when you hear about improper or illegal activity. FIFA has a huge problem because they have a long history of corruption that went unchecked. That long history has been transformed – into a long indictment.
- Our friendly US Marshalls and FBI agents will be impressed if you immediately investigate an issue. If you don’t, they will be happy to do the investigation for you. If you get to this point, you may notice that they’re not quite so friendly anymore.
- Keep training employees on your company’s code of ethics, Sarbanes-Oxley, and FCPA. Just make sure they have context to the training so they understand why it applies to them. FIFA just gave us an excellent case study to use into training.
The Lesson for Employees
I once heard Mia Hamm tell a story about the long, arduous practices that she endured. She trained by herself, in the rain, all day long. She knew no one was watching her, but she knew she had to do the right thing to be the best player possible for her team. She would have to live with herself if she caused the team to lose.
So, be like Mia Hamm. Do the right thing every day, and don’t be afraid to speak up if something seems amiss. If your boss doesn’t appreciate your efforts, be grateful. You just received a clear sign that it’s time to move on to a different team.
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Liz D’Aloia is the founder of HR Virtuoso. She’s passionate about helping companies improve their recruiting brand and the candidate experience. She’s also an attorney and enjoys legal history. Connect with Liz on LinkedIn, follow her @hrvirtuoso, or call/text her at 972.342.3021.
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