DOJ Issues Rare FCPA Opinion Regarding Liability For Extortion Payment

On January 21, 2022, DOJ issued a brief but instructive Opinion Procedure Release—only the second FCPA opinion released since 2014—addressing a unique scenario where a company employee faces imminent physical harm or duress in a foreign jurisdiction, and the company faces a demand for payment to a third party acting on behalf of that foreign jurisdiction in order for the employee to be released.