The U.S. Department of Justice's biggest criminal investigations are increasingly transnational cases involving bribery or financial schemes, according to acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco.
In a speech to the Atlantic Council Inter-American Dialogue on Wednesday, Blanco stressed the recent cooperation between DOJ and foreign prosecutors. He singled out Brazil's collaboration on corporate bribery schemes that in the past year resulted in major cases against U.K.-based Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and three Brazilian companies: aircraft manufacturer Embraer, construction conglomerate Odebrecht and petrochemical company Braskem.
"Odebrecht, one of the world's largest construction companies, paid an unparalleled amount of bribes to high-level officials in a dozen countries to secure billions of dollars' worth of projects around the globe," Blanco noted. Brazil, the U.S. and Switzerland jointly prosecuted the firm and imposed a $3.5 billion fine, the largest global fine ever in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case.
About 80 people in Brazil have been charged individually in connection with the Odebrecht case, and the investigation is ongoing.
"By working together, Brazil and the Department not only assisted one another in gathering evidence and building the case, but made sure to credit the fines and penalties paid to each country, rather than imposing duplicative fines and penalties," he said.
People around the world are tired of seeing powerful individuals steal money that was meant for roads or schools or hospitals, Blanco said, and they are demanding action.
He added: "Something big is happening in the world today, you can feel it, it is everywhere; and so are we."
As if to further punctuate Blanco's statements, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein held an unrelated press conference on July 20 to talk about a coordinated, international operation against dark web marketplaces that broker criminal deals such as sales of illegal drugs, counterfeit goods, child porn and more.
That cooperation, Rosenstein said, just resulted in the takedown of two web marketplaces called AlphaBay and Hansa Market, and the arrest of its administrators.
He said the takedown could not have happened without the work of law enforcement authorities in Thailand, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France, with support from Europol.