Examining Enforcement Of The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

Examining enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: hearing before the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, second session, November 30, 2010.

Examining enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: hearing before the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, second session, November 30, 2010.

When people pay bribes to foreign public officials, how should the law respond? This question has been debated ever since the enactment of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, and some of the key arguments can be traced back to Cicero in the last years of the Roman Republic and Edmund Burke in late eighteenth-century England. In recent years, the U.S. and other members of the OECD have joined forces to make anti-bribery law one of the most prominent sources of liability for firms and individuals who operate across borders. The modern regime is premised on the idea that transnational bribery is a serious problem which invariably merits a vigorous legal response. The shape of that response can be summed up in the phrase "every little bit helps," which in practice means that: prohibitions on bribery should capture a broad range of conduct; enforcement should target as broad a range of actors as possible; sanctions should be as stiff as possible; and as many agencies as possible should be involved in the enforcement process. An important challenge to the OECD paradigm, labelled here the "anti-imperialist critique," accepts that transnational bribery is a serious problem but questions the conventional responses. This book uses a series of high-profile cases to illustrate key elements of transnational bribery law in action, and analyzes the law through the lenses of both the OECD paradigm and the anti-imperialist critique. It ultimately defends a distinctively inclusive and experimentalist approach to transnational bribery law.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Compliance Guidebook shows readers how the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) has grown to critical importance to any U.S. company that does business in a global environment, as well as foreign companies that supply or have agency agreements with U.S. companies. It provides an overview of the business risks and guidance on spotting potential red flags regarding FCPA violation. Business professionals are provided with practical guidance on managing FCPA requirements as part of an overall compliance program.

Michael Volkov's career has spanned 30 years as an attorney in Washington, D.C. - as a federal prosecutor, a Chief Counsel on the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, a trial attorney in the Antitrust Division and in private practice. This book will help anyone better understand anti-bribery compliance in the U.S. and beyond. "Michael Volkov's book is a compilation of articles on a number of subjects important to lawyers advising clients how to stay out of trouble. He is a prolific writer and I can say without question, we have not heard the last of his musings. Simply put, his book contains important information that should prove helpful to lawyers, particularly to those who practice in the white collar field." - Judge Stanley Sporkin, Former Director of the Division of Enforcement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention focuses on enforcement through the criminalisation of foreign bribery but it is multidisciplinary and includes key requirements to combat money laundering, accounting fraud, and tax evasion connected to foreign bribery. The first step, however, in enforcing foreign bribery and related offences is effective detection. This study looks at the primary sources of detection for the foreign bribery offence and the role that certain public agencies and private sector actors can play in uncovering this crime. It examines the practices developed in different sectors and countries which have led to the successful detection of foreign bribery with a view to sharing good practices and improving countries’ capacity to detect and ultimately step-up efforts against transnational bribery. The study covers a wide range of potential sources for detecting foreign bribery: self-reporting; whistleblowers and whistleblower protection; confidential informants and cooperating witnesses; media and investigative journalism; tax authorities; financial intelligence units; other government agencies; criminal and other legal proceedings; international co-operation and professional advisers.

Written by a former FCPA attorney with expert knowledge and experience relevant to the issues discussed, the book injects innovative concepts to the study of the FCPA and its enforcement such as the Šworld�s most ethical FCPA violators,� Šthe faˆade of