What the law reaches
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prohibits paying or offering anything of value to foreign officials to obtain or keep business, and it separately requires companies whose securities trade in the United States to keep accurate books and adequate internal controls. It reaches U.S. companies and individuals, many foreign companies listed here, and others who act while in U.S. territory. Payments routed through agents, consultants, or joint venture partners can create liability when the company knew, or deliberately closed its eyes to, what was happening. Employees of state-owned enterprises may count as foreign officials, which surprises many businesses. The Justice Department handles criminal enforcement, and the SEC brings civil cases against issuers.
Shifting priorities, unchanged statute
Federal enforcement priorities shifted in 2025, when the executive branch paused new FCPA matters and later issued guidance narrowing the cases it intends to pursue. Policy can change again, while the statute itself has not changed, and the time to bring charges can outlast a single administration. Other countries have their own anti-bribery laws, such as the UK Bribery Act, and local law in the countries where you operate applies regardless of U.S. priorities. Lenders, acquirers, and business partners still ask about anti-corruption controls in diligence. For those reasons, many companies have kept their programs in place rather than scaling them back.
Building a program that fits
A useful program starts with where your risks actually sit: which countries, which customers are government-linked, and which third parties act on your behalf. Diligence on agents and distributors, contract terms requiring compliance, and controls over commissions, gifts, and travel tend to matter more than a long policy document. Employees need a way to raise concerns and a process that actually looks into them. If a problem has already surfaced, decisions about investigation, remediation, and possible self-disclosure come quickly and carry real weight. In an initial meeting we map your international footprint and decide whether you need a program build, a review of one relationship, or an investigation.
