The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the "FCPA")
is a U.S. federal statute that requires companies to observe
certain accounting transparency standards and prohibits individuals
and companies from bribing foreign officials. Because of its
international reach, it can be used to impose civil and criminal
sanctions against both companies and individuals operating anywhere
in the world, regardless of nationality, as long as a sufficient
connection with the United States is shown.
The FCPA is enforced by the Department of Justice (DOJ)
and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 2018 was a
record-breaking year for FCPA enforcement, as 16 companies paid a
total of $2.89 billion in penalties. The biggest loser was
Brazilian multinational Petrobras, which paid $1.78 billion in
penalties, nearly as much as the amount paid by all companies in
2017. Several new trends in FCPA enforcement appeared in 2018 as
detailed below.
