The Automotive Industry And The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: A Practical Approach To Identifying And Mitigating Risks

Originally published in Manufacturing.Net, November 2011

Introduction

Recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions against Renault, Daimler and Fiat demonstrate the dangers that those in the automotive industry face under the statute, which prohibits the payment of bribes to foreign officials. FCPA risks take different forms depending on the nature, scope and location of a company's international activity. They can arise both when companies seek to sell their products or services directly to foreign governments and state-owned entities and in the form of bribe payments in return for favorable contracting decisions. Such activity triggered the Renault, Daimler and Fiat matters, where the companies admitted to paying bribes to secure contracts to provide vehicles to various foreign countries