On 12 December 2025, the US Division of Justice introduced a Deferred Prosecution Settlement underneath the International Corrupt Practices Act with TIGO Guatemala. This marks the primary FCPA Deferred Prosecution Settlement of President Trump’s second time period and the primary company legal FCPA decision since enforcement resumed earlier in 2025.
The TIGO Guatemala matter is the second publicly introduced company FCPA consequence of the administration, following the Liberty Mutual declination in August 2025. Learn collectively, the 2 instances present early perception into how the DOJ is making use of its recalibrated FCPA enforcement framework following the February pause and the up to date enforcement priorities issued in Might 2025.
The Liberty Mutual case concerned bribery by workers of the corporate’s Indian subsidiary between 2017 and 2022. Roughly $1.47 million in bribes have been paid to officers at Indian state-owned banks in change for buyer referrals, producing round $4.7 million in revenue. Though the DOJ discovered ample proof to carry costs, it declined prosecution underneath its Company Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Coverage. The choice was grounded in early self-reporting, full cooperation, complete remediation, and the absence of aggravating elements. Liberty Mutual agreed to disgorge its earnings and proceed cooperating with any associated investigations.
The TIGO Guatemala decision illustrates the opposite facet of that enforcement boundary. Whereas the DOJ credited in depth cooperation and post-acquisition remediation with a 50 % discount within the legal penalty and the choice to not impose an unbiased compliance monitor, it didn’t provide a declination. Extended misconduct, obstruction of the preliminary investigation, and using narcotrafficking proceeds to fund bribes positioned the case past the scope of discretionary leniency.
Taken collectively, these two outcomes make clear the DOJ’s post-pause FCPA posture. Declinations stay obtainable the place misconduct is promptly disclosed, contained, and remediated. Instances involving sustained corruption, compromised cooperation, or aggravating danger elements proceed to end in legal resolutions, even inside a narrower and extra focused enforcement atmosphere.
The DPA decision briefly
Beneath the DPA, TIGO Guatemala agreed to pay a complete of roughly $118 million, comprising a $60 million legal penalty and $58.2 million in forfeiture. The DOJ charged the corporate with one depend of conspiracy to violate the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions. Prosecution is deferred for 2 years, topic to compliance with in depth cooperation, reporting, and remediation obligations.
The legal penalty displays a 50 % discount from the underside of the relevant Sentencing Tips vary. The DOJ attributed this discount to important cooperation and remediation efforts, despite the fact that the corporate didn’t qualify for a declination or a extra lenient decision underneath the Company Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Coverage on account of continued misconduct throughout an earlier section of the investigation.
Background to the misconduct
In response to the Assertion of Details hooked up to the DPA, from roughly 2012 to 2018 TIGO Guatemala participated in a widespread and systematic bribery scheme in Guatemala. The scheme was orchestrated by the corporate’s then-local shareholder and concerned senior firm personnel. It included common money funds to Guatemalan members of Congress or their safety groups in change for legislative help that benefited the corporate’s enterprise operations.
The DOJ alleges that among the funds used to make these bribe funds have been derived from narcotrafficking proceeds. Whereas the DOJ didn’t allege that firm workers knew the final word supply of these funds, their use materially aggravated the seriousness of the conduct and formed the DOJ’s enforcement response.
Investigation historical past and charging selections
Millicom first voluntarily disclosed misconduct associated to TIGO Guatemala in 2015. At the moment, Millicom held a majority possession stake, although it lacked operational management. The native shareholder used that management to limit entry to info and to dam cooperation with the DOJ’s investigation. In consequence, the DOJ closed its preliminary investigation in 2018 with out decision.
In 2020, the DOJ developed new proof from sources outdoors the corporate and reopened the investigation. This second section revealed that misconduct had continued throughout and after the preliminary investigation and that the bribery scheme concerned laundering narcotrafficking proceeds. These elements disqualified the corporate from a declination or a non-prosecution settlement, however the sooner voluntary disclosure.
Cooperation and remediation
The DOJ however credited TIGO Guatemala and Millicom for in depth cooperation throughout the reopened investigation. This included inner investigations throughout a number of jurisdictions, forensic information assortment, facilitation of interviews with foreign-based workers in the US, detailed factual displays to prosecutors, and proactive disclosure of beforehand unknown proof, together with translated supplies.
After Millicom acquired full possession and management of TIGO Guatemala in 2021, the corporate undertook important remediation. Measures described within the DPA embody termination of culpable personnel, appointment of recent administration and compliance management, enhanced third-party onboarding and transaction monitoring, deployment of information analytics and steady monitoring instruments, and the introduction of insurance policies governing ephemeral messaging with preservation and evaluation of communications.
Millicom additionally considerably expanded its international compliance program over the previous decade, rising devoted compliance headcount by roughly 800 % and implementing steady testing and monitoring. The DOJ concluded that these steps lowered the necessity for an unbiased compliance monitor and supported the two-year DPA time period.
Ongoing obligations underneath the DPA
In the course of the DPA time period, TIGO Guatemala and Millicom should proceed to cooperate absolutely with the DOJ and different home or overseas authorities. They’re required to report yearly on the implementation and effectiveness of their compliance program and to promptly disclose any proof of potential FCPA or International Extortion Prevention Act violations found throughout the time period.
On the conclusion of the settlement, senior executives should certify that the corporate has met its compliance and disclosure obligations. Failure to adjust to the DPA, together with the fee of recent violations or the availability of deceptive info, might end in prosecution and using admissions made underneath the settlement.
Why this case issues for compliance professionals
This decision offers an early indication of how the DOJ is approaching FCPA enforcement following the 2025 pause. The case demonstrates renewed enforcement exercise, a transparent emphasis on issues touching US nationwide pursuits comparable to narcotrafficking, and continued reliance on cooperation and remediation as key elements in penalty mitigation.
It additionally highlights persistent dangers round joint ventures and minority or majority possession constructions the place operational management is proscribed. Early voluntary disclosure didn’t stop escalation as soon as cooperation was impeded and misconduct continued. For compliance groups, the case reinforces the significance of efficient third-party governance, source-of-funds scrutiny, and the power to keep up significant oversight even in advanced possession preparations.
Most significantly, the TIGO Guatemala decision confirms that whereas cooperation and remediation can considerably scale back penalties, they don’t erase legal responsibility the place severe and extended misconduct has occurred. For organisations working throughout borders, these instances underline the continued significance of sensible, up-to-date FCPA coaching. VinciWorks offers focused anti-bribery and corruption coaching designed to mirror present enforcement expectations, protecting third-party danger, presents and hospitality, facilitation funds, and high-risk jurisdictions. Our programs are usually up to date to trace DOJ steering and actual enforcement outcomes, serving to compliance groups translate regulatory alerts into clear, defensible requirements of conduct for employees at each stage.
On 12 December 2025, the US Division of Justice introduced a Deferred Prosecution Settlement underneath the International Corrupt Practices Act with TIGO Guatemala. This marks the primary FCPA Deferred Prosecution Settlement of President Trump’s second time period and the primary company legal FCPA decision since enforcement resumed earlier in 2025.
The TIGO Guatemala matter is the second publicly introduced company FCPA consequence of the administration, following the Liberty Mutual declination in August 2025. Learn collectively, the 2 instances present early perception into how the DOJ is making use of its recalibrated FCPA enforcement framework following the February pause and the up to date enforcement priorities issued in Might 2025.
The Liberty Mutual case concerned bribery by workers of the corporate’s Indian subsidiary between 2017 and 2022. Roughly $1.47 million in bribes have been paid to officers at Indian state-owned banks in change for buyer referrals, producing round $4.7 million in revenue. Though the DOJ discovered ample proof to carry costs, it declined prosecution underneath its Company Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Coverage. The choice was grounded in early self-reporting, full cooperation, complete remediation, and the absence of aggravating elements. Liberty Mutual agreed to disgorge its earnings and proceed cooperating with any associated investigations.
The TIGO Guatemala decision illustrates the opposite facet of that enforcement boundary. Whereas the DOJ credited in depth cooperation and post-acquisition remediation with a 50 % discount within the legal penalty and the choice to not impose an unbiased compliance monitor, it didn’t provide a declination. Extended misconduct, obstruction of the preliminary investigation, and using narcotrafficking proceeds to fund bribes positioned the case past the scope of discretionary leniency.
Taken collectively, these two outcomes make clear the DOJ’s post-pause FCPA posture. Declinations stay obtainable the place misconduct is promptly disclosed, contained, and remediated. Instances involving sustained corruption, compromised cooperation, or aggravating danger elements proceed to end in legal resolutions, even inside a narrower and extra focused enforcement atmosphere.
The DPA decision briefly
Beneath the DPA, TIGO Guatemala agreed to pay a complete of roughly $118 million, comprising a $60 million legal penalty and $58.2 million in forfeiture. The DOJ charged the corporate with one depend of conspiracy to violate the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions. Prosecution is deferred for 2 years, topic to compliance with in depth cooperation, reporting, and remediation obligations.
The legal penalty displays a 50 % discount from the underside of the relevant Sentencing Tips vary. The DOJ attributed this discount to important cooperation and remediation efforts, despite the fact that the corporate didn’t qualify for a declination or a extra lenient decision underneath the Company Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Coverage on account of continued misconduct throughout an earlier section of the investigation.
Background to the misconduct
In response to the Assertion of Details hooked up to the DPA, from roughly 2012 to 2018 TIGO Guatemala participated in a widespread and systematic bribery scheme in Guatemala. The scheme was orchestrated by the corporate’s then-local shareholder and concerned senior firm personnel. It included common money funds to Guatemalan members of Congress or their safety groups in change for legislative help that benefited the corporate’s enterprise operations.
The DOJ alleges that among the funds used to make these bribe funds have been derived from narcotrafficking proceeds. Whereas the DOJ didn’t allege that firm workers knew the final word supply of these funds, their use materially aggravated the seriousness of the conduct and formed the DOJ’s enforcement response.
Investigation historical past and charging selections
Millicom first voluntarily disclosed misconduct associated to TIGO Guatemala in 2015. At the moment, Millicom held a majority possession stake, although it lacked operational management. The native shareholder used that management to limit entry to info and to dam cooperation with the DOJ’s investigation. In consequence, the DOJ closed its preliminary investigation in 2018 with out decision.
In 2020, the DOJ developed new proof from sources outdoors the corporate and reopened the investigation. This second section revealed that misconduct had continued throughout and after the preliminary investigation and that the bribery scheme concerned laundering narcotrafficking proceeds. These elements disqualified the corporate from a declination or a non-prosecution settlement, however the sooner voluntary disclosure.
Cooperation and remediation
The DOJ however credited TIGO Guatemala and Millicom for in depth cooperation throughout the reopened investigation. This included inner investigations throughout a number of jurisdictions, forensic information assortment, facilitation of interviews with foreign-based workers in the US, detailed factual displays to prosecutors, and proactive disclosure of beforehand unknown proof, together with translated supplies.
After Millicom acquired full possession and management of TIGO Guatemala in 2021, the corporate undertook important remediation. Measures described within the DPA embody termination of culpable personnel, appointment of recent administration and compliance management, enhanced third-party onboarding and transaction monitoring, deployment of information analytics and steady monitoring instruments, and the introduction of insurance policies governing ephemeral messaging with preservation and evaluation of communications.
Millicom additionally considerably expanded its international compliance program over the previous decade, rising devoted compliance headcount by roughly 800 % and implementing steady testing and monitoring. The DOJ concluded that these steps lowered the necessity for an unbiased compliance monitor and supported the two-year DPA time period.
Ongoing obligations underneath the DPA
In the course of the DPA time period, TIGO Guatemala and Millicom should proceed to cooperate absolutely with the DOJ and different home or overseas authorities. They’re required to report yearly on the implementation and effectiveness of their compliance program and to promptly disclose any proof of potential FCPA or International Extortion Prevention Act violations found throughout the time period.
On the conclusion of the settlement, senior executives should certify that the corporate has met its compliance and disclosure obligations. Failure to adjust to the DPA, together with the fee of recent violations or the availability of deceptive info, might end in prosecution and using admissions made underneath the settlement.
Why this case issues for compliance professionals
This decision offers an early indication of how the DOJ is approaching FCPA enforcement following the 2025 pause. The case demonstrates renewed enforcement exercise, a transparent emphasis on issues touching US nationwide pursuits comparable to narcotrafficking, and continued reliance on cooperation and remediation as key elements in penalty mitigation.
It additionally highlights persistent dangers round joint ventures and minority or majority possession constructions the place operational management is proscribed. Early voluntary disclosure didn’t stop escalation as soon as cooperation was impeded and misconduct continued. For compliance groups, the case reinforces the significance of efficient third-party governance, source-of-funds scrutiny, and the power to keep up significant oversight even in advanced possession preparations.
Most significantly, the TIGO Guatemala decision confirms that whereas cooperation and remediation can considerably scale back penalties, they don’t erase legal responsibility the place severe and extended misconduct has occurred. For organisations working throughout borders, these instances underline the continued significance of sensible, up-to-date FCPA coaching. VinciWorks offers focused anti-bribery and corruption coaching designed to mirror present enforcement expectations, protecting third-party danger, presents and hospitality, facilitation funds, and high-risk jurisdictions. Our programs are usually up to date to trace DOJ steering and actual enforcement outcomes, serving to compliance groups translate regulatory alerts into clear, defensible requirements of conduct for employees at each stage.
