We are subject to anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering, financial and economic sanctions and similar laws in many jurisdictions, and non-compliance with such laws can subject us to administrative, civil and criminal fines and penalties, collateral consequences, remedial measures and legal expenses, all of which could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and reputation.
We are subject to anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering, financial and economic sanctions and similar laws and regulations in various jurisdictions in which we conduct or in the future may conduct activities, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. § 201, the U.S. Travel Act, the USA PATRIOT Act, the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, and other anti-corruption laws and regulations. Anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws have been enforced aggressively in recent years and are interpreted broadly to generally prohibit companies, their employees, agents, representatives, business partners, and third-party intermediaries from authorizing, offering, or providing, directly or indirectly, improper payments or benefits to recipients in the public or private sector.
We will sometimes leverage third parties to sell our products and conduct our business abroad. We, our employees, agents, representatives, business partners, and our third-party intermediaries may have direct or indirect interactions with officials and employees of government agencies or state-owned or affiliated entities and may be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of these employees, agents, representatives, business partners or third-party intermediaries even if we do not explicitly authorize such activities. We cannot assure you that all of our employees and agents will not take actions in violation of applicable law, for which we may be ultimately held responsible. As we increase our international sales and business, our risks under these laws may increase.
The FCPA also requires companies to make and keep books, records and accounts that accurately reflect transactions and dispositions of assets and to maintain a system of adequate internal accounting controls. Our policies and procedures are designed to ensure compliance with these laws, but we cannot assure you that none of our employees, agents, representatives, business partners or third-party intermediaries will engage in improper conduct that violates our policies and applicable law, for which we may be held responsible.
Non-compliance with anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering or financial and economic sanctions laws could subject us to whistleblower complaints, adverse media coverage, investigations, severe civil and criminal sanctions, settlements, prosecution, enforcement actions, loss of export privileges, suspension or debarment from U.S. government contracts and other collateral consequences and remedial measures, all of which could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and reputation. Responding to any investigation or action will likely result in a materially significant diversion of management’s attention and resources and significant defense costs and other professional fees. In addition, changes in economic sanctions laws in the future could adversely impact our business and investments in our ordinary shares.
We and our partners, suppliers and customers are subject to requirements relating to environmental, permitting and safety regulations and environmental remediation matters which could adversely affect our business, prospects, results of operation and reputation.
We and our partners, suppliers and customers are subject to numerous environmental laws and regulations governing, among other things, energy storage system siting and installation restrictions, solid and hazardous waste storage, treatment and disposal, and remediation of releases of hazardous materials. There are significant capital, operating and other costs associated with compliance with these environmental, permitting and safety laws and regulations. Environmental laws and regulations may become more stringent in the future, which could increase costs of compliance or require us to manufacture with alternative technologies and materials. Moreover, if we or any of our partners, suppliers or customers were found to be in violation of environmental, permitting or safety laws, our reputation for building clean battery cells from an ethically- and sustainably-sourced supply chain could be harmed, potentially resulting in significant damage to our brand.
Our manufacturing process will have hazards such as but not limited to hazardous materials, machines with moving parts,