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Corruption, Crime and Compliance

Episode 234 – A Deep Dive into the Stericycle FCPA Enforcement Action


The Justice Department ended its FCPA enforcement drought by announcing its first corporate settlement in 2022. In a parallel action, the SEC announced its settlement with Stericycle for $28 million for FCPA violations. The SEC’s settlement was second with a company for 2022 (the first was KT Corp.).Under the settlement, Stericycle resolved investigations being conducted by the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Brazil. Stericycle agreed to enter into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement and pay more than $84 million. Stericycle will pay $52.5 million in criminal penalties, $28 million to the SEC in civil penalties and disgorgement, and approximately $9.3 million to Brazilian authorities. DOJ agreed to credit up to one-third of the criminal penalty against the company’s fines to Brazilian authorities. Significantly, the DPA requires Stericycle to obtain an independent compliance monitor for a two-year period and then submit a self-report for the rest of the DPA term. Stericycle is a global waste management company which is headquartered in Illinois. In its factual admission, Stericycle admitted a wide-ranging scheme involving the payment of bribes to foreign officials in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. In total, Stericycle paid approximately $10.5 million in bribes to foreign officials in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina to secure business contracts from which Stericycle profited by at least $21.5 million.
In this episode, Michael Volkov reviews the Stericycle FCPA enforcement action.