No investigation or prosecution of cases involving alleged violations of the antibribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 (15 U.S.C. §§ 78dd-1, 78dd-2, and 78dd-3), related violations of the FCPA’s record keeping provisions (15 U.S.C. § 78m(b)), or violations of the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) of 2023 shall be instituted without the express authorization of the Criminal Division.

Any information relating to a possible violation of the FCPA or FEPA should be brought immediately to the attention of the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division. Even when such information is developed during the course of an apparently unrelated investigation, the Fraud Section should be notified immediately. Close coordination of such investigations and prosecutions with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other interested agencies is essential. Additionally, the Department has established a FCPA Opinion Procedure concerning proposed business conduct. See A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Unless otherwise agreed upon by the Assistant Attorney General (AAG), Criminal Division, investigations and prosecutions of alleged violations of the antibribery provisions of the FCPA or FEPA will be conducted by Trial Attorneys of the Fraud Section. Prosecutions of alleged violations of the FCPA’s record keeping provisions, when such violations are related to an antibribery violation, will also be conducted by Fraud Section Trial Attorneys, unless otherwise directed by the AAG, Criminal Division.

The investigation and prosecution of particular allegations of violations of the FCPA or FEPA will raise complex enforcement problems abroad as well as difficult issues of jurisdiction and statutory construction. For example, part of the investigation may involve interviewing witnesses in foreign countries concerning their activities with high-level foreign government officials. In addition, relevant accounts maintained in United States banks and subject to subpoena may be directly or beneficially owned by senior foreign government officials. For these reasons, the need for centralized supervision of investigations and prosecutions under the FCPA and FEPA is compelling. In addition, the investigation, arrest, or prosecution of a foreign government official may implicate national security or diplomatic interests and require coordination with other law enforcement and government agencies in the United States and abroad.

[updated March 2024]