Anti-Bribery Expansion: The Foreign Extortion Prevention Act

On December 22, 2023, President Biden signed into law the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. This bipartisan legislation included the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA), which enables criminal prosecution of foreign officials who solicit and receive bribes. FEPA is an important addition to the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ or Justice Department) increasing efforts to fight foreign bribery.

This client alert will detail FEPA's effect on current laws, what FEPA entails, and what steps should be taken to comply with this new law. 

Effect on Current Laws

Prior to FEPA, the Justice Department relied heavily on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) to combat foreign bribery. The FCPA targets those who offer or pay bribes to foreign officials–that is, those on the “supply” side of international bribery cases.¹ Its reach does not extend, however, to the foreign officials pocketing the bribes. To prosecute those individuals on the “demand” side