FCPA Guide: A Useful, Though Far From Groundbreaking, Resource

On November 14, 2012, the Criminal Division of the US Department of Justice ("DOJ") and the Enforcement Division of the US Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") jointly released "A Resource Guide to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act" (the "Guidance"). The long-awaited Guidance discusses the DOJ's and SEC's interpretations of both the anti-bribery and accounting provisions of the FCPA and the authorities' approach to enforcement. While the fine-print disclaimer makes clear at the outset that the 120-page Guidance is "non-binding, informal, and . . . does not constitute rules or regulations," it is nonetheless a useful resource that organizes important information about the FCPA in one convenient place and sheds some light on the enforcement authorities' perspectives regarding such thorny topics as what constitutes proper/improper gifts and entertainment, who is a "foreign official," when facilitating or so-called "grease" payments are permitted, the application