France’s progress in the fight against corruption in international business and its impact on the transatlantic dialogue

Since the adoption of the Sapin II Act in 2016, France has made important progress in the fight against corruption by imposing an obligation to implement corporate compliance programs, creating an independent anti-corruption agency, and adopting a new legal mechanism comparable to the deferred prosecution agreement used by the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve FCPA and other corporate criminal cases.

In only a few years, France has emerged as a leading country in the fight against corruption and its legislation has become a model for other countries in the world and an important factor in international commercial contracts.

The Center on Transnational Business and the Law is pleased to sponsor this timely program that will explore the increased cooperation between the United States and France in criminal anti-corruption cases, including the sharing of evidence in investigations, the coordination of corporate resolutions, the crediting of fines and disgorgement paid to other authorities, and the consistent engagement and sharing of information.

Michel Sapin, principal author of the French anti-corruption law, and Valentina Lana, Marshall Memorial Fellow, will describe how France took action in the fight against corruption and how France’s progress impacted the transatlantic dialogue and judicial cooperation.  David Last will present the American point of view on how the progress made by France impacted international cooperation in the global fight against corruption.

Moderator:   Professor Don De Amicis, Faculty Co-Director, Center on Transnational Business and the Law

Panelists:

Michel Sapin, lecturer at Sciences Po University, attorney, former French Minister of Economy and Finance and principal author of the French anti-corruption law (the “Sapin II Act).

Valentina Lana, Marshall Memorial Fellow, lecturer at Sciences Po University, compliance manager, attorney

David Last, Partner, Cleary Gottlieb; until May 2023, Chief of the FCPA Unit at the U.S. Department of Justice, Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center

Accommodation requests related to a disability should be sent to don.deamicis@law.georgetown.edu. A good-faith effort will be made to fulfill requests.