The so-called CROOK Act (see here and here for prior posts among others) seeks to “establish an anti-corruption action fund to support international anti-corruption efforts …”.

The House version of the CROOK ACT seeks “an amount equal to five percent of each civil and criminal fine and penalty imposed pursuant to actions brought under the FCPA … that would otherwise be deposited in the Treasury of the United States” to fund the Anti-Corruption Action Fund.”

The Senate version of the CROOK ACT seeks to tax certain FCPA enforcement actions (those in which total criminal fines and penalties are in excess of $50 million) by imposing an “additional prevention payment equal to $5 million which shall be deposited in the Anti-Corruption Action Fund.”

As discussed in prior posts, the CROOK Act is feel-good legislation that will do very little to to reduce prominent root causes of bribery and corruption – that is foreign trade barriers, distortions and other conditions of doing business in a foreign country.

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Previous posts here and here discussed House and Senate versions of the “Countering Russian and Other Overseas Kleptocracy Act” (“CROOK Act”).

Both versions of the CROOK Act seek to authorize the Secretary of State to establish a fund to be known as the “Anti-Corruption Action Fund” to aid foreign states to prevent and fight public corruption and develop rule of law based governance structures, including accountable investigative, prosecutorial, and judicial bodies, and supplement existing foreign assistance and diplomacy with respect to such efforts.”

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