This chapter contains the Department’s policy regarding investigations and prosecutions of violations of two related statutes:

1. • The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which prohibits both United States and foreign corporations and nationals from offering or paying, or authorizing the offer or payment, of anything of value to a foreign government official, foreign political party, party official, or candidate for foreign public office, or to an official of a public international organization in order to obtain or retain business; and
2. • The Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA), which criminalizes the “demand side” of foreign bribery by prohibiting foreign officials from demanding, seeking, receiving, accepting, or agreeing to receive or accept anything of value from certain individuals and entities.

In addition, the FCPA requires publicly held United States companies to make and keep books and records which, in reasonable detail, accurately reflect the disposition of company assets and to devise and maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to reasonably assure that transactions are authorized, recorded accurately, and periodically reviewed.

Further guidance on the FCPA is available in A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, published by the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available at https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/file/1292051/dl?inline.

[updated March 2024]