The United States (US) enacted the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
of 1977 (FCPA) in response to concerns regarding pervasive bribery
by US companies in foreign jurisdictions. In broad terms the FCPA
has made it illegal for certain companies to influence foreign
officials to engage in corrupt activities. The FCPA applies to US
companies, foreign companies that trade securities in the US, US
citizens and US residents who engage in foreign corrupt practices,
as defined in the FCPA, regardless of whether they are physically
present in the US.
Application of the FCPA
When implementing a cross-border corporate merger or
acquisition, the acquiring company may be held liable for
infractions under the FCPA committed by the target company. This
could be in the scenario where the acquiring company failed to
identify, terminate and remediate the target company's past
unlawful conduct. Therefore, neglecting to perform a thorough
pre-acquisition anti-corruption due diligence
