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Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Prohibitions against official bribery are by no means unique to the United States. What is unique to the United States is that its concern with corruption does not stop with its own officials but extends to the corruption of foreign officials as well. By far the most important, and certainly the best known, reflection of this concern is the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (the FCPA or the Act), which imposes criminal penalties on American enterprises that bribe officials of foreign governments. There are several federal statutes that preceded the FCPA, however, and that bear on the behavior of American enterprises abroad. Although these statutes have largely been eclipsed by the FCPA, at least insofar as they might apply to the bribery of foreign officials, they are part of the legal context within which the FCPA is enforced, and from which the FCPA arose. Moreover, any American enterprise charged with a violation of the FCPA may also be charged with violations of one or more of these other provisions.
Among the most significant of these pre-FCPA statutes are the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (which requires all publicly traded companies in the United States to disclose any material fact necessary to make financial and management statements "not misleading"), the Mail and Wire Fraud Acts (which prohibit use of the mails or interstate or international telecommunications for the purpose of executing any scheme to defraud), the Internal Revenue Code (which prohibits the deduction of illegal payments to foreign officials), and the False Statements Act (which imposes criminal penalties on persons or corporations that knowingly make false statements to any department or agency of the U.S. government).
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Considering the number of jobs that moved overseas from 2001 to 2008 and the amount of money flooding into American elections from unknown sources, one has to wonder, will the Republicans work to repeal the (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (the FCPA or the Act)? It certainly seems ripe for repeal because it stands in the way of business opportunity.
Remember this act. It will make news soon.
Prohibitions against official bribery are by no means unique to the United States. What is unique to the United States is that its concern with corruption does not stop with its own officials but extends to the corruption of foreign officials as well. By far the most important, and certainly the best known, reflection of this concern is the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (the FCPA or the Act), which imposes criminal penalties on American enterprises that bribe officials of foreign governments. There are several federal statutes that preceded the FCPA, however, and that bear on the behavior of American enterprises abroad. Although these statutes have largely been eclipsed by the FCPA, at least insofar as they might apply to the bribery of foreign officials, they are part of the legal context within which the FCPA is enforced, and from which the FCPA arose. Moreover, any American enterprise charged with a violation of the FCPA may also be charged with violations of one or more of these other provisions.
Among the most significant of these pre-FCPA statutes are the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (which requires all publicly traded companies in the United States to disclose any material fact necessary to make financial and management statements "not misleading"), the Mail and Wire Fraud Acts (which prohibit use of the mails or interstate or international telecommunications for the purpose of executing any scheme to defraud), the Internal Revenue Code (which prohibits the deduction of illegal payments to foreign officials), and the False Statements Act (which imposes criminal penalties on persons or corporations that knowingly make false statements to any department or agency of the U.S. government).
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Considering the number of jobs that moved overseas from 2001 to 2008 and the amount of money flooding into American elections from unknown sources, one has to wonder, will the Republicans work to repeal the (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (the FCPA or the Act)? It certainly seems ripe for repeal because it stands in the way of business opportunity.
Remember this act. It will make news soon.
