Trusts and Company Service Providers (TCSPs) can provide an important link between financial institutions and some of their customers. TCSPs have often been used, wittingly or unwittingly, in the conduct of money laundering activities. The majority of TCSPs are established for legitimate purposes, the Financial Action Task Force’s research Shows that some TCSPs are being … Read more »
Tag: OECD
Lawyers and Corruption Laws
In April 2010, the International Bar Association, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, launched the Anti-Corruption Strategy for the Legal Profession. The project is focusing on the role lawyers play in fighting corruption in international business transactions. Nearly half of all respondents recognized corruption to … Read more »
The International View on US Anti-Bribery Efforts
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s report on U.S. anti-bribery efforts released their Phase 3 Report on the United States. In its report, the Working Group commended the United States for its engagement with the private sector, substantial enforcement, and commitment from the highest levels of the U.S. Government. In addition to the recommendation … Read more »
Bribery in Britain
The British government is working on a new Bribery Bill “to reform the criminal law of bribery to provide for a new consolidated scheme of bribery offenses to cover bribery both in the United Kingdom (UK) and abroad.” The Bribery Bill would replaces the offenses under the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889, the Prevention … Read more »
Money Laundering Awareness Handbook
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development issued a handbook that provides guidance designed to help tax examiners and tax auditors detect and deter money laundering: The Money Laundering Awareness Handbook for Tax Examiners and Their Auditors. The purpose of this handbook is to raise the awareness level of tax examiners and auditors on money … Read more »
France Decides Not to Criminalize International Bribery
“France has severely restricted its jurisdiction and its ability to prosecute cases with an international dimension, which, given the country’s importance in the international economy and the scale of many of its companies, is very regrettable,” according to a report by GRECO. The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) was established in 1999 by the … Read more »
Who Is a Foreign Official After the Government Bailout of Financial Instiutions?
We have all read about the bailout of US financial institutions by the US government. This is not happening in other countries. This complicates the analysis under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. As Joel M. Cohen, Michael P. Holland, and Adam P. Wolf of Clifford Chance examined in Under the FCPA, Who Is a Foreign … Read more »
International Standards for the Bribery of Public Officials
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is the U.S. standard for bribery of public officials by U.S. concerns or international concerns with a presence in the U.S. The international standard is the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions promulgated by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. The convention sets … Read more »
Who is a Foreign Official under the FCPA?
The FCPA defines “foreign official” as: [A]ny officer or employee of a foreign government or any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, or a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any such government or department, agency, or instrumentality, or for or on behalf of any such … Read more »
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 … Read more »