Steps to an Effective Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Compliance Program

Corporate in-house counsel are challenged to do more with less in this highly regulated post-Enron, post-9/11 period. They have put in place legal compliance procedures and processes that satisfy the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley,¹ the New York Stock Exchange,² the NASDAQ,³ the compliance program requirements of the U.S. Department of Justice Guidelines for Criminal Prosecution of Corporations,⁴ Caremark⁵ and its progeny, as well as the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations,⁶ to the extent that these rules and standards apply to their companies. They have sought to understand if their companies are covered by the compliance program requirements of the USA PATRIOT Act⁷ and Bank Secrecy Act⁸ antimoney laundering rules and regulations. Some have had to develop procedures for complying with the complex antiterrorism/antimoney laundering regulatory schemes promulgated and administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN),⁹ as well as