Recent Amendments To The Foreign Extortion Prevention Act Clarify Its Scope

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On December 22, 2023, President Biden signed the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act ("FEPA") into law, establishing criminal liability under U.S. law for foreign officials who solicit or accept bribes from U.S. entities or while in the territory of the U.S. The recent Foreign Extortion Prevention Technical Correction Act, (the "amendments"), signed into law on July 30, 2024, as its name suggests, fixes a number of minor technical issues in the FEPA, but also significantly alters the statute's scope.

The FEPA was intended to complement the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"). Since 1977, the FCPA has prohibited U.S. companies or persons from making payments to foreign officials for purposes of obtaining or retaining business. The FCPA thus targets the "supply" side of bribery, providing for penalties for the payors of bribes to foreign officials, but not the "demand" side – the officials who receive or solicit those