Richard L. Cassin of The FCPA Blog highlights Review Procedure Release No. 81-02 from December 11, 1981: A Rare (Or Medium-Rare) Opportunity. The release helps give a roadmap on how to introduce new products to potential government customers in foreign countries without violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In Release 81-02 (December 11, 1981), the…
Category: Bribery and Corruption
History of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
In 1977, Congress enacted the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as part of the 1934 Securities Exchange Act . The FCPA criminalized the bribery of foreign officials by U.S. corporations and individuals pursuing business in other countries and required that companies with publicly-traded stock meet certain standards regarding their accounting practices, books and records, and internal…
FCPA Investigations are on the Rise
According to the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog, And the FCPA Party Continues: “U.S. government had open investigations into 84 companies at the end of last year, up from three in 2002, according to Shearman & Sterling. “In the 30-plus years I have followed these matters, there were long periods of little activity and few…
Lay-Person’s Guide to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
The United States Department of Justice has put together a Lay Person’s Guide to FCPA on the the Department’s site on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The 1988 Trade Act directed the Attorney General to provide guidance concerning the Department of Justice’s enforcement policy with respect to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (“FCPA”),…
Kay v. United States
Kay v. United States (Docket: 07-1281) is on the docket of the Supreme Court’s opening conference on September 29, 2008 for the Court’s October 2008 term. The petition for certiorari and all cert-stage briefs are available at scotusblog.com. David Kay and Douglas Murphy were sentenced in 2005 to 37 and 63 months in prison respectively…