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Financial services organizations can adopt actionable practices to manage the risks associated with evolving regulatory guidelines.
In brief
The DOJ’s latest guidance on FCPA enforcement focuses on the protection of US national interests, prioritizing cases that involve cartels and TCOs.
There are multiple leading practices that financial organizations can follow to ensure continued compliance with the regulatory environment.
Part 3 of 3 in a series focusing on anti-bribery and corruption
On June 9, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement guidelines, after temporarily suspending the act’s enforcement earlier this year. These guidelines aim to prioritize the protection of national interests while targeting misconduct with clear corrupt intent.
Switching the lens to four main areas of focus
Per the latest guidance issued by the DOJ, FCPA investigations and enforcement should serve to protect US national interests by limiting undue burdens on American companies that operate abroad and targeting conduct that undermines US national interests.
The four main areas of focus are:
Total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs)
Safeguarding fair opportunities for US companies
Advancing US national security
Prioritizing investigations of serious misconduct
Spotlight on cartels and TCOs
Cartels and TCOs remain top of mind for financial institutions
Following the designation of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) and the DOJ’s call to prioritize cases of foreign bribery that facilitate criminal operations, financial institutions should focus their efforts to assess any potential relationships with criminal organizations. There are several key factors that influence whether to initiate an FCPA investigation or pursue enforcement action, including if the alleged misconduct:
Is associated with the criminal operations of a cartel or TCO
Or
Utilizes money launderers or shell companies that engage in money laundering for cartels or TCOs
Or
Is linked to employees of state-owned entities or other foreign officials who have received bribes from cartels or TCOs
Leading practices for financial institutions
Actionable leading practices for organizations to remain aligned with FCPA guidelines:
Organizations should assess operations and business activity particularly in regions known for cartel or TCO activity, such as Mexico, the Southwest United States, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and parts of Africa. Conducting and refocusing risk assessments will help companies operating in at-risk regions and markets respond proactively to the increased risk of scrutiny, investigation and enforcement actions due to the DOJ’s current stance on engagements.
Organizations should adopt and enhance due diligence practices that identify associations within operations or business partners to determine that their business is not associated with the criminal activity of cartels or TCOs by performing beneficial ownership information checks. The FCPA may be applied in conjunction with laws that will result in enforcement actions taken against companies for providing material support to terrorism.
Businesses are encouraged to continue to proactively implement effective compliance measures that consider all high-risk and high-impact areas, as the DOJ’s guidance indicates that it is prioritizing investigations of serious misconduct. This should extend across FCPA, as well as anti-money laundering (AML) emerging trends, risks and schemes, particularly in high-risk markets and product offerings. These program assessments should also account for recent administrative and regulatory pronouncements.
Organizations should take advantage of customer, ownership, transaction and other data sources in concert with external public or subscription-based data sources to routinely monitor for emerging risks, AML or FCPA typologies, changes in client ownership, or other regulatory-driven priorities.
Organizations should enhance their compliance training, including the awareness and identification of potential TCO and cartel activity in business operations.
Forensic Investigations & Crisis Management Services team provides complete crisis and incident response solutions. Team of former law enforcement, forensic accountants.
EY Forensic & Integrity Services is a leader in providing anti-bribery and anti-corruption (ABC)-related services in the financial services industry. Our US and global networks enable tailored approaches to address complex ABC challenges. Presented below is a selection of the ways we can assist your organization navigate the changing regulatory environment:
Conduct or refresh program assessments to identify gaps and opportunities for remediation, as well as assess the program’s current state against the leading practices of peers
Investigate allegations of wrongdoing internally by employees or externally by third-party vendors and contractors
Leverage our suite of leading-edge analytics tools and workflow capabilities to augment or support financial services clients in identifying, monitoring or investigating patterns of potentially suspicious activity
Develop and/or conduct role-specific training tailored to enhancing employees’ understanding of the organization’s risks and enhance the detection of TCO and cartel activity
Guide the revision and enhancement of existing policies and procedures to align with the updated FCPA guidelines
Selected qualifications
We conducted an AML investigation for a large financial institution that included the review of a complex network of accounts and subaccounts to identify atypical patterns and potential affiliations with cartels or terrorist organizations. EY professionals conducted due diligence on the transacting parties and prepared detailed case summaries to support Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) determinations. The analysis performed revealed unusual patterns indicative of cartel-related abuse of the financial institution.
We conducted an ABC risk assessment for a leading provider of financial guaranty insurance as it expands into new geographic and product markets. EY professionals interviewed key company personnel and reviewed existing compliance frameworks to identify risks and propose recommendations.
We performed pre-acquisition ABC due diligence for a leading private equity group’s purchase of a global real estate corporation. We assessed the target entity’s compliance framework and selected high-risk subsidiaries for transaction testing and business intelligence screening.
Kajal Jani and Sarah Castillo are the contributors for this article.
Summary
Despite changes in the regulatory landscape, financial services companies must continue to sharpen their anti-bribery and corruption compliance programs and ensure alignment with FCPA guidelines by implementing key actionable practices.
Organizations continue to prioritize their anti-bribery and corruption compliance programs despite the recent regulatory pullback in the US. Learn more.
