Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) (15 U.S.C. § 78dd-1, et seq.) is a United States federal law that prohibits U.S. citizens and entities from bribing foreign government officials to benefit their business interests.

The anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA have applied to all U.S. persons and certain foreign issuers of securities. Following amendments made in 1998, the Act also applies to foreign firms and persons who, either directly or through intermediaries, help facilitate or carry out corrupt payments in U.S. territory.

Pursuant to its anti-bribery purpose, the FCPA amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require all companies with securities listed in the U.S. to meet certain accounting provisions, such as ensuring accurate and transparent financial records and maintaining internal accounting controls.

The FCPA is jointly enforced by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which apply criminal and civil penalties respectively.

Since its passage, the FCPA has been subject to controversy and criticism, namely whether its enforcement discourages U.S. companies from investing abroad. The Act was subsequently amended in 1988 to raise the standard of proof for a finding of bribery. In a 2025 survey of economists, there was overwhelming agreement among economists that ending enforcement of the act would increase global levels of bribery and corruption and none of the surveyed economists held that it would increase the long-term profits and competitiveness of US businesses.

The core aim of the FCPA is to prohibit companies and their individual officers from influencing foreign officials with any personal payments or rewards. FCPA applies to any person who has a certain degree of connection to the United States and engages in corrupt practices abroad, as well as to U.S. businesses, foreign corporations trading securities in the U.S., American nationals, citizens, and residents acting in furtherance of a foreign corrupt practice, whether or not they are physically present in the U.S. This is considered the nationality principle of the Act. Any individuals involved in these activities may face prison time. In the 1992 case US v. Liebo, the DOJ filed a case against the vice president in charge of the Aerospace division of Napco International Inc. for violations in accordance with the FCPA. After pleading guilty, Liebo was sentenced to a term of 18 months for the offense violating FCPA's anti-bribery provisions.

The FCPA also extends to foreign companies and individuals who engage in corrupt practices while in the United States, even if the actual bribery occurs outside the country. This extraterritorial reach is based on the principle of territorial jurisdiction. For example, in 2013, French oil and gas company Total S.A. agreed to pay a $245.2 million penalty to settle FCPA charges related to bribes paid to an Iranian official to obtain oil and gas concessions. Although the bribery scheme occurred entirely outside the United States, the SEC and DOJ asserted jurisdiction because Total had registered securities with the SEC and made corrupt payments through U.S. banks.

In the case of foreign natural and legal persons, the Act covers their deeds if they are in the U.S. at the time of the corrupt conduct. This is considered the protective principle of the Act. Moreover, the FCPA governs not only direct payments to foreign officials, candidates, and parties, but payments made to any other recipient in furtherance of influencing a foreign official, candidate, or party. These payments are not restricted to monetary forms and may include anything of value. This is considered the territoriality principle of the act.