Ex-Alstom Executive Hoskins’ Foreign Bribery Acquittal Upheld (1)

Former Alstom executive Lawrence Hoskins convinced the Second Circuit to affirm a lower court’s decision acquitting him over his role in a scheme to bribe government officials in Indonesia.

The Friday ruling represents a blow to Justice Department’s effort to pursue non-US citizens in foreign bribery schemes, under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

“We hold that the district court properly granted Hoskins’s motion for judgment of acquittal for violations of the FCPA because there was no agency or employee relationship between Hoskins and Alstom Power, Inc.,” the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said in a panel decision. ...