The Department of Justice recently released a highly anticipated memo outlining its priorities for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement. The updated guidelines make it clear that the DOJ won’t abandon FCPA enforcement, which should come as a welcome sign to whistleblowers and allay reasonable concerns about foreign corruption and bribery cases.
The announcement follows Executive Order 14209, which directed the US attorney general to halt new FCPA enforcement investigations and actions, and review all existing ones, for 180 days.
The FCPA prohibits offering, promising, or paying anything of value to foreign officials to secure or retain business. The DOJ jointly enforces the FCPA alongside the Securities and Exchange Commission; the former generally handles criminal enforcement, while the latter generally focuses on civil violations by companies that sell securities in the US.
The SEC has historically been concerned with the FCPA’s accounting provisions, which require that US issuers maintain accurate and transparent financial records and internal controls. Although paying bribes is illegal in and of itself, the SEC often goes after companies for failing to record the bribes on their books instead.
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