FCPA Opinion Procedure Release 94-01 came from a U.S. company and a foreign citizen. The American company seeks, through its subsidiary, to enter into a contract with a foreign national. The American company’s subsidiary is engaged in the manufacturing of products for use in clinical and hospital laboratories. Its manufacturing operations are located on real property which it acquired from a company that is a state-owned enterprise (the enterprise) now being transformed into a joint stock company.
The subsidiary wishes to enter into a contract with an individual who is the general director of the enterprise. The individual is a longtime resident of the area and has experience dealing with the local authorities and public utility service providers.
The American company’s foreign attorney has advised that under the nation’s law, the individual would not be regarded as either a government employee or a public official, the foreign attorney’s opinion is not dispositive, and we have considered the foreign individual to be a “foreign official’ under the statute.