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FCPA Individual-Liability Prosecutors Want YOU!

By John Rahie and Jeffrey Harfenist
November 24, 2009

Over the last ten years, U.S. corporations conducting business outside the country have witnessed a dramatic increase in the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the severity of the financial penalties assessed. Over the past five years, they have also experienced a significant rise in the passage and enforcement of anti-corruption laws in countries outside the U.S. Efforts to parlay violations into various private civil lawsuits have also emerged. And now, the slate of available enforcement options appears to be expanding beyond the corporate entity. Both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have recently announced that they will not only prosecute the individuals involved in paying the bribes, but also the executives who arguably should have prevented it.

Enforcement officials have set their sights squarely on the culpable individual as high up in the organization as possible. Individual liability could be more of a danger in cases under the laws of other countries. In China, for example, it has been a matter of losing one's head.

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