As the stock option backdating cases wind down, what will be
the next corporate scandal to gain widespread notoriety?
It is always difficult to predict what alleged misdeeds will
be front page news in the coming years, but many believe that
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") violations may
be this year's corporate crime of the century.
The FCPA was enacted in 1977. But it was rarely enforced
throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Now, in recent years, the
Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange
Commission have picked up the pace of enforcement. The average
number of FCPA criminal prosecutions and civil enforcement
actions increased fourfold over the last five years compared to
the previous five years, and the average fine for corporate
violators has steadily increased over the last several
years.
