FCPA Anti-Bribery Liability for a Subsidiary's Conduct

The new Guidance raises the question of how much, if any, knowledge and control of a subsidiary's bribery, as opposed to its actions generally, the government believes is necessary for a parent to be held liable under the FCPA's anti-bribery provisions ' and whether the answer is different for the DOJ than for the SEC.

25 minute read December 26, 2012 at 01:34 PM
By
Laurence A. Urgenson, William J. Stuckwisch, and Brigham Q. Cannon
FCPA Anti-Bribery Liability for a Subsidiary's Conduct

In their recently issued joint guidance on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) explained that a parent company may be liable under the FCPA's anti-bribery provisions for the actions of a subsidiary not only when the parent directly participated in the subsidiary's misconduct, but also “under traditional agency principles.”

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