You know about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
But how much do you really know?
Do you know why Congress passed the FCPA and the various legislative responses Congress considered in addressing the so-called foreign corporate payments problem? See here for “The Story of the FCPA.”
Have you ever actually read the FCPA statute? It can be found here (in 50 different languages).
Judicial decisions interpreting the FCPA are not very common (because of how the DOJ/SEC have chosen to enforce the FCPA), but there are some. If you have not read, at a minimum, the following cases you have some work to do: U.S. v. Liebo, U.S. v. Esquenazi, U.S. v. Carson, U.S. v. Lindsey Manufacturing, SEC v. Straub, SEC v. Steffen, U.S. v. Kay, U.S. v. Hoskins, SEC v. Mattson, U.S. v. Bourke, SEC v. Jackson, U.S. v. Castle, SEC v. World-Wide Coin, and SEC v. SolarWinds.
Have you actually analyzed FCPA enforcement actions? Not just read the DOJ or SEC press releases, but actually read the resolution vehicle (whether a plea agreement, non-prosecution agreement, deferred prosecution agreement, declination with disgorgement, administrative action, etc)? If not here is the DOJ’s FCPA page and SEC FCPA enforcement actions can be found here.
Are you familiar with the various forms of guidance the DOJ and SEC have long provided regarding the FCPA such as the SEC’s 1981 guidance concerning the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions (here), the DOJ’s and SEC’s 2012 FCPA Guidance (here) and 2020 FCPA Guidance (here), DOJ FCPA Opinion Procedure Releases (here), and other various forms of DOJ guidance?
Do you understand how FCPA scrutiny and enforcement may result in various ripple effects (see here) beyond a DOJ or SEC enforcement action?
In short, how much do you really know about the FCPA?
