Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

Nationwide Whistleblower and Qui Tam Litigation

The SEC whistleblower program provides for rewards for individuals who provide the government with information about violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977.

The FCPA was enacted in 1977 in an effort to end the practice of some multinational corporations obtaining business abroad by bribing foreign officials. The FCPA makes it unlawful to bribe a foreign government official to obtain or retain business.  The Act prohibits U.S. companies and individuals from paying money or any other sort of inducement, including an offer or promise to pay money or anything of value, to a foreign official with the intent to influence a decision or action affecting that company’s business.

The FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions apply to "issuers," companies with securities traded on a U.S. stock exchange or otherwise required to file periodic reports with the SEC, as well as “domestic concerns,” a term which includes “any corporation, partnership, association, joint-stock company, business trust, unincorporated organization, or sole proprietorship” with a principal place of business in the United States or organized under U.S. law. Thus, the international business activity of private U.S. companies falls under the FCPA as well and several recent FCPA enforcement actions concern foreign business activities by private U.S. companies.

A foreign official is defined as "any officer or employee of a foreign government or any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of such government or department, agency, or instrumentality, or for or on behalf of any such public international organization."

For more information regarding the FCPA, please refer to the Department of Justice's "Lay Person's Guide."

If you have knowledge of an FCPA violation or other securities law violations and would like to discuss the possibility of a whistleblower award under the SEC or CFTC whistleblower programs, please contact our whistleblower attorneys today. Kenney & McCafferty will consult with you about your case, without obligation. All communications with Kenney & McCafferty attorneys regarding your case are confidential and protected by attorney-client privilege.