If you are an American company doing business in or with China, it behooves you to have at least some familiarity with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). But where to turn for that?
I’m going to tell you: Michael Kohler’s FCPA Professor blog, in a post appropriately entitled, FCPA 101.
The post is logically organized around questions one should have about the FCPA and it does a superb job of setting out the FCPA basics. If you want to know the answers to any (or better yet, all) of the following questions, go to FCPA 101:
- When and why was the FCPA enacted?
- Has the FCPA been amended since 1977?
- What are the FCPA’s main provisions?
- Who is subject to the anti-bribery provisions?
- What do the anti-bribery provisions prohibit?
- What does “anything of value” mean?
- What does “foreign official” mean?
- What does “obtain or retain business” mean?
- Does the FCPA have any exceptions or affirmative defenses?
- Can a third-party subject a company to anti-bribery violations?
- What do the books and records and internal control provisions prohibit?
- Which agencies enforce the FCPA?
- How do the enforcement agencies typically find out about FCPA issues?
- Why has FCPA enforcement increased?
- How are FCPA enforcement actions typically resolved?
- How are FCPA fines, penalties, and sentences calculated?
- Are companies that resolve FCPA enforcement actions “bad” or “unethical”?
- What about the bribe-takers?
- What is the FCPA Opinion Release Procedure?
- Do other countries have “FCPA-like” laws?
I recommend it.
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