Airbus Corruption Probe Likely to Continue
Although the Trump administration unexpectedly imposed record fines under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), it also initiated “fewer and fewer new FCPA investigations”. The National Law Review reports that it expects the incoming Biden administration to “continue the trend of increasing FCPA enforcement settlement values, while also increasing the pace of initiating new...
Conducting Corruption Compliance Interviews Abroad – Thailand
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) investigations typically involve third parties or subsidiaries located outside the US since most FCPA violations arise out of the activities of foreign third parties or foreign subsidiaries. But most guides on how to conduct FCPA investigations and interviews seem to ignore this rather obvious fact. It has not however escaped the attention of the U.S....
Overview of Thai Bankruptcy Reorganization Law
Overview of Thai Bankruptcy Reorganization Law
Bankruptcy laws often require courts and parties to make hard choices. In a bankruptcy there is simply not enough money to satisfy everyone, and difficult decisions must be made about who gets what. In a bankruptcy, property is seized, reputations are ruined, contracts are dismembered and jobs are lost.
Thai law only provided for the liquidation...
Words That Have No Place in Your Legal Documents: “And/Or”
Never use “and/or” in legal drafting, particularly when describing an obligation. It has been correctly described as an “ugly legalism”; William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White, in their classic, The Elements of Style, say and/or is “A device, or shortcut, that damages a sentence and often leads to confusion or ambiguity”. They are right.
Justice Fowler, more colorfully, described it...
Things You Never Want to Hear from Your Lawyer in Thailand
Compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is challenging in some jurisdictions, and there are some things you never want to hear from your lawyer, particularly in high-risk jurisdictions such as Thailand. Here are a few “innocent” statements that have been “repeated” as purported anecdotes, followed by comments on why these statements are dangerous indicia of corruption.
“We...
New Franchise Regulations in Thailand are a “Game Changer”
For at least the past two decades, Thailand has been on the verge of enacting a franchise law. Law firms would issue bulletins to their clients announcing that a new law was about to be enacted on franchising relationships. The announcements would often say that the draft law would be enacted by year’s end. We are now approaching the end of 2020, and Thailand does not yet have a franchising...
High Level Overview of Steps Required to Register a Private Limited Company in Thailand
The steps required to establish a private limited company in Thailand are:
Reservation of Name
The first step involved in establishing a Thai company is to file via online an application to register the company’s proposed name(s) with the Registrar (the Registrar) of the Partnerships and Companies Registration Office, Department of Business Development (DBD), Ministry of Commerce. Within one...
Top 12 Things to Keep in Mind When Planning on Doing Business in Thailand
The top 12 things to keep in mind when planning to do business in Thailand:
1. Foreign Ownership of Companies and Land: This is often a surprise for business people and lawyers operating in more open economies, but foreigners are prohibited from owning land (absent narrow exceptions) and foreign majority owned businesses are prohibited from engaging in a wide range of...
Facing the Foreign Business Act
To legally engage in activities restricted under the FBA, an alien company must obtain a Foreign Business License (“FBL”) or a Foreign Business Certificate (“FBC”) from the DBD. This is often easier said than done, but there are some exceptions.
Serious and Real Reform of the Thai FBA is Overdue.
The Bangkok Post reported on 21 May 2018 that the foreign business community is (again) pressing for reform of the Foreign Business Operations Act (FBA). We are seeing that again now.
Reform is absolutely necessary, but the foreign business community needs to look carefully at reform proposals, because many past proposals, if they had been enacted, would have made the FBA more restrictive....