Using technology-assisted review to uncover suspicious transactions

A global corporation with operations in Latin America, West Africa and Eastern Europe was being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for alleged violations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In coordination with outside counsel and its forensic accounting service provider, the corporation applied technology-assisted review (TAR) techniques to payment transactions, reducing the DOJ’s $30 million in bribery and corruption allegations to less than $8 million and allowing them to settle the case out of court. Did I get your attention?

In this column I’ll describe a fictionalized version of that actual case, where TAR was indeed used as a defense strategy on a real governmental investigation (I’ve changed the numbers and details). The DOJ alleged the company was making improper payments in the form of bribes to government officials, including customs agents, via the use of multiple third-party vendors. The DOJ asserted that more than two dozen vendors had made over $30 million in alleged bribes and it was up to the company to prove them wrong.