DOJ FCPA Opinion Request Procedure Document

Fourth, the request must be signed. For corporate requestors, the signatory should be an appropriate senior officer with operational responsibility for the conduct that is the subject of the request and who has been designated by the corporation's chief executive officer. In appropriate cases, DOJ also may require the chief executive officer to sign the request. Those signing the request must certify that it contains a true, correct, and complete disclosure with respect to the proposed conduct and the circumstances of the conduct. Fifth, an original and five copies of the request should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division, Attention: FCPA Opinion Group.” The mailing address is P.O. Box 28188 Central Station, Washington, D.C. 20038. DOJ also asks that you send an electronic courtesy copy to [email protected]. DOJ will evaluate the request for an FCPA opinion.“ A party may withdraw a request for an opinion at any time prior to the release of an opinion.“ If the request is complete and all the relevant information has been submitted, DOJ will respond to the request by issuing an opinion within 30 days. If the request is incomplete, DOJ will identify for the requestor what additional information or documents are required for DOJ to review the request. Such information must be pro- vided to DOJ promptly. Once the additional information has been received, DOJ will issue an opinion within 30 days of receipt of that additional information.“ DOJ’s FCPA opin- ions state whether, for purposes of DOJ’s present enforcement policy, the prospective conduct would violate either the issuer or domestic concern anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA.** DOJ also may take other positions in the opinion as it con- siders appropriate.“ To the extent that the opinion concludes that the proposed conduct would not violate the FCPA, a rebuttable presumption is created that the requestor’s con- duct that was the basis of the opinion is in compliance with the FCPA.“"* In order to provide non-binding guidance to the business community, DOJ makes versions of its opinions pub- licly available on its website.*”” If, after receiving an opinion, a party is concerned about prospective conduct that is beyond the scope of conduct speci- fied in a previous request, the party may submit an additional request for an opinion using the procedures outlined above.“® 87 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_022589