Editing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (section)

{{Short description|United States federal law}}
{{use mdy dates |date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| shorttitle = Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
| othershorttitles = {{unbulleted list|Domestic and Foreign Investment Improved Disclosure Act|Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Amendment|Unlawful Corporate Payments Act}}
| longtitle = An Act to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to make it unlawful for an issuer of securities registered pursuant to section 12 of such Act or an issuer required to file reports pursuant to section 15(d) of such Act to make certain payments to foreign officials and other foreign persons, to require such issuers to maintain accurate records, and for other purposes.
| colloquialacronym = FCPA
| nickname = Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977
| enacted by = 95th
| effective date = December 19, 1977
| public law url = http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-91/pdf/STATUTE-91-Pg1494.pdf
| cite public law = 95-213
| cite statutes at large = {{usstat|91|1494}}
| acts amended =
| title amended = [[Title 15 of the United States Code|15 U.S.C.: Commerce and Trade]]
| sections created =
| sections amended = {{Usc-title-chap|15|2b}} § 78a et seq.
| leghisturl = http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d095:SN00305:@@@S
| introducedin = Senate
| introducedbill = {{USBill|95|S.|305}}
| introducedby = [[William Proxmire]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]-[[Wisconsin|WI]])
| introduceddate = January 18, 1977
| committees = [[United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs|Senate Banking]], [[United States House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce|House Commerce]]
| passedbody1 = Senate
| passeddate1 = May 5, 1977
| passedvote1 = passed
| passedbody2 = House
| passeddate2 = November 1, 1977
| passedvote2 = passed, in lieu of {{USBill|95|H.R.|3815}}
| conferencedate = December 6, 1977
| passedbody3 = Senate
| passeddate3 = December 6, 1977
| passedvote3 = agreed
| passedbody4 = House
| passeddate4 = December 7, 1977
| passedvote4 = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/95-1977/h699 349-0]
| signedpresident = [[Jimmy Carter]]
| signeddate = December 19, 1977
| amendments =
| SCOTUS cases =
}}
The '''Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977''' ('''FCPA''') ({{UnitedStatesCode|15|78dd-1}}, ''et seq.'') is a [[United States federal law]] that prohibits U.S. citizens and entities from [[Bribery|bribing]] foreign government officials to benefit their business interests.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/foreign-corrupt-practices-act|title=Foreign Corrupt Practices Act|date=2015-06-09|website=www.justice.gov|language=en|access-date=2020-02-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213060246/https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/foreign-corrupt-practices-act|archive-date=2020-02-13|url-status=live}}</ref>

The FCPA is applicable worldwide and extends specifically to [[Public company|publicly traded companies]] and their personnel, including officers, directors, employees, shareholders, and agents. 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/foreign-corrupt-practices-act.shtml|title=Spotlight on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act|website=Securities and Exchange Commission |access-date=2020-02-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302201148/https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/foreign-corrupt-practices-act.shtml|archive-date=2020-03-02|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite journal |first=T. Markus |last=Funk |date=September 10, 2010 |title=Getting What They Pay For: The Far-Reaching Impact Of the Dodd-Frank Act's 'Whistleblower Bounty' Incentives on FCPA Enforcement |journal=White Collar Crime Report |publisher=[[Bureau of National Affairs]] |volume=5 |issue=19 |pages=1–3 |url=http://www.perkinscoie.com/files/upload/COMM_10_09_WhiteCollarCrimeReport.pdf |access-date=May 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230025844/http://www.perkinscoie.com/files/upload/COMM_10_09_WhiteCollarCrimeReport.pdf |archive-date=December 30, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The FCPA is jointly enforced by the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] (DOJ) and the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission|Securities and Exchange Commission]] (SEC), which apply criminal and [[civil penalty|civil penalties]] respectively.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41466.pdf|title=Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA): Congressional Interest and Executive Enforcement, In Brief|last=Seitzinger|first=Michael V.|date=March 15, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321213856/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41466.pdf|archive-date=March 21, 2020}}</ref>

Since its passage, the FCPA has been subject to controversy and criticism,<ref>{{Cite book|title = Business Law Today: The Essentials|last = LeRoy Miller|first = Roger|publisher = South-Western Cengage Learning|year = 2011|isbn = 978-1-133-19135-3|location = United States|page = 127}}</ref> namely whether its enforcement discourages U.S. companies from investing abroad.<ref name=":0" /> The Act was subsequently amended in 1988 to raise the standard of proof for a finding of bribery.<ref name=":1" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025 |title=Enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act |url=https://www.kentclarkcenter.org/surveys/enforcing-the-foreign-corrupt-practices-act/ |website=Clark Center Forum |language=en-US}}</ref>