ABA CJS London White Collar Crime Institute - Internal Investigations

In this second post from the Fifth Annual ABA Criminal Justice Section London White Collar Crime Institute, I will discuss some of the lessons learned and issues discussed during this morning’s panel on international internal investigations.

The panel emphasized that one of the first issues for consideration after the discovery of potential misconduct by a corporate employee is disclosure obligations. One of the issues discussed in this context was the tension the exists when a corporation wants time to develop the facts, but mandatory disclosure requirements restrict the time frame during which this can occur. This is an issue made even more complex in the international context, where the disclosure obligations might vary significantly from one jurisdiction to another. Further, along with mandatory disclosure obligations, there are permissive disclosure considerations. One of the most important, of course, is the decision whether and when to disclosure the issues discovered to the government in an effort to demonstrate cooperation and voluntary disclosure.

The panel also considered the importance of seeking to preserve evidence immediately. As readers know, failure to protect evidence from destruction can both jeopardize the ability of counsel to conduct an effective internal investigation and, potentially, lead to charges of obstruction of justice.

Part of the hypothetical discussed during the panel involved a number of emails being collected by private counsel as part of the internal investigation. These emails came from various parts of the world, including Hong Kong and Amsterdam. While counsel in the U.S. are comfortable with collecting emails and other corporate documents during an investigation without significant impediment, data privacy laws in other countries introduce a number of complexities. In the European Union, for example, there are many restrictions on the transfer of data out of the country. One related issue explored by the panel was whether U.S. prosecutors understand or appreciate the significance of these data privacy obligations. Based on discussions both today and yesterday at the conference, it appears that one of the reasons tension exists in this area is because of the different approaches to these data privacy obligations taken by corporations during pending investigations.

The panel then discussed issues associated with employee interviews during an internal investigation. Here, the panel examined the ways that local employment, criminal, and civil laws can impact the ability of counsel to conduct such interviews. Once again, while few restrictions exist in the United States, a host of restrictions and requirements related to interacting with employees in this way may apply abroad. Can the interview be recorded? Can the employee’s statements be disclosed to the government? Does the employee need to be given notice or provided with representation prior to the interview? What types of disclosures need to be made to the employee before the interview begins? Are interview notes privileged? How do the answers to these questions impact an internal investigator’s strategy? As these questions illustrate, each step of the investigation on the international stage posses various pitfalls and perils.

As part of this panel, we also heard an interesting discussion of the economics of profit and loss calculations in a bribery case. The presentation reminded us of the complexities of profit and loss calculations and the significant impact these calculations might have on the outcome of the case. It also reminded us of the importance of retaining the right experts in any case, particularly one that crosses borders.

The panel as a whole served as a nice reminder of the importance of considering local laws and rules when engaging in a cross-border investigation.  

(LED)