An FCPA case will soon be heard at the Federal Appellate level and could set some precedent to one of the more troubling and unresolved questions lingering around the law.
An FCPA case will soon be heard at the Federal Appellate level and could set some precedent to one of the more troubling and unresolved questions lingering around the law.
Some of the nation’s biggest companies – and largest employers – continue to get hit by aggressive interpretation and administration of the FCPA.
Sen. Pryor, Sen. Boozman, how much longer must we wait before you take action on this? Our economy and working families impacted by it cannot afford to simply wait it out to see if the Administration’s newest version of this law will prove more consistent and transparent.
THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW.
FCPA Guidance is Here!
Wall Street Journal Law Blog
By Joe Palazzolo
November 14, 2012
Compliance officers, corporate lawyers, in-house counsel and anyone else at a multinational company whose job includes fearing the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act: Listen up.
The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have a 130-page guide for you — the most comprehensive effort to date by the agencies to dispel confusion surrounding their enforcement of the 1977 antibribery law.
But let’s cut to the chase. Broadly, the guidance recites positions long held by the government and avoids the firm policy pronouncements sought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other critics of the law.
You’ll find some meat in the “gifts, travel and entertainment” section (page 15). There, the agencies suggest –note: they do not promise — that paying for a foreign official’s cab fare or buying him or her a cup of coffee wouldn’t alone trigger an FCPA investigation.
Have a look at the agencies’ section on who qualifies as a “foreign official” beginning on page 19. It’s a rehash of positions DOJ and SEC have advanced in court. Facilitating payments? Page 25. You’ll find an articulation of the agencies’ views on successor liability on page 28.
Give it a read and send in your thoughts, FCPA nerds. Click here for our first take on the guidance in the Journal.
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/11/14/fcpa-guidance-is-here/
From Law.com, this captures the essence of problems associated with the recent enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Hopefully it will move lawmakers toward taking up reform sooner rather than later.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a product of 1977, has become a major issue among Arkansas business and agriculture interests, as well as public servants. Now comes news the US Chamber is taking up the cause in Washington, which can only be good news for the reform effort.
The link below illustrates the Chamber’s position and includes a link to a letter signed by that group as well as some in Arkansas and around the nation: