US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977 Guidance – it’s official

After a long wait, writes Mark Dunn, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have finally published guidance to help companies comply with the US anti-bribery & corruption legislation, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). On its release on 14 November 2012, the two agencies enthusiastically proclaimed, “There may (be) no other area of the law where DOJ or SEC has provided the public with as much information about our enforcement approach and priorities.” Does the guidance meet expectations and provide clarity or is it simply a rehash of existing information from US regulators?

Mark Dunn may be contacted via LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/ in/markdunn1

Provenance

The guide document was first signalled back in November 2011, when, following ongoing dialogue with the US private sector on the impact of the FCPA, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the DOJ’s Criminal Division announced his department’s intention to “release detailed new guidance on the Act’s criminal and civil enforcement provisions.” Almost a year to the day later, in what is the agencies have termed “an unprecedented undertaking”, the DOJ, in cooperation with the SEC’s Enforcement Division, has finally issued “FCPA: A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ” [1] along with a summary Fact Sheet. [2]