London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 04, 2025

FBI Increasingly Probes for Corruption Overseas

FBI Increasingly Probes for Corruption Overseas

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has taken on a bigger role in foreign investigations with U.S. ties, expanding its international corruption unit in recent years to pursue individuals and organizations involved in crimes such as bribery, kleptocracy and antitrust.
The bureau’s newest international corruption squad in particular, set up last year in Miami, shows how agents are helping tackle foreign bribery through enforcement of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and kleptocracy violations via U.S. money-laundering rules. The Miami team has worked at least five cases, including several that led to high-profile settlements this year.

“The FBI has participated in these investigations for years, and it appears to be taking a larger and more focused and better-resourced role, especially in FCPA matters,” said Matteson Ellis, an attorney who specializes in international anticorruption compliance and enforcement at Miller & Chevalier Chartered.

The FCPA prohibits U.S. persons and entities from giving or offering anything of value to foreign public officials to win business.

The Miami international corruption squad focuses on the Latin American region, complementing three similar units in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. The bureau saw a need to set up a squad in Miami as case work related to bribery and money-laundering schemes there swelled, overwhelming the two full-time agents focusing on international corruption at the time, according to Leslie Backschies, chief of the FBI’s international corruption unit.

“We were perpetually flying down to South America; individuals were transiting through the Miami area,” said Ms. Backschies, who was head of the FBI’s international corruption team in Los Angeles before leading the national team.

“We were seeing assets being procured with illicit proceeds. We were just seeing a lot of bad activity,” she said. “And everyone was always having to go to Miami to conduct interviews.” So the Miami unit was created, starting operations in March 2019.

The FBI took agents from its Houston office to Miami, hand-picking those with expertise in international cases who had worked with multiple teams of prosecutors in the U.S. and abroad at the same time, Ms. Backschies said. The FBI’s international corruption unit now has 51 staff members, including special agents, intelligence officers, analysts and forensic accountants across the country. By comparison, there were only 13 agents and one analyst in the field office in Washington in 2010.

In Miami, the bureau has looked for agents with cultural fluency and language skills, particularly Spanish and Portuguese, according to Rick Simpson, head of the Miami squad.

The transactional corruption unit works closely with foreign governments and prosecutors, often running parallel investigations, Mr. Simpson said. In Latin America, the agents have had strong partnerships with law enforcement in Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador, he said.

With the new dedicated squads, the FBI is initiating more cases, Mr. Simpson said. The bureau handles the investigation of FCPA cases and works hand-in-hand with prosecutors from the U.S. Justice Department on cases from start to finish, including regularly sending agents to meetings with companies and their lawyers, he said.

The Miami squad was credited with assisting in investigations related to several recent FCPA settlements, including a deal with Sargeant Marine Inc., a Florida asphalt company that pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to violate antibribery provisions of the FCPA.

The FBI’s investigative work also helped lead to a settlement in October with J&F Investimentos SA. The Brazilian firm, which controls meatpacking giant JBS SA, agreed to pay $128 million and pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of conspiring to violate the FCPA.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
×