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Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

Definition

A 1977 US statute with two main pillars: anti-bribery provisions prohibiting corrupt payments to foreign government officials to obtain or retain business, and accounting provisions requiring SEC-registered issuers to keep accurate books and maintain adequate internal controls.

Related terms

Adequate procedures
The defence to the Section 7 corporate offence under the UK Bribery Act. A commercial organisation must show it had in place...
Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA)
An agreement between a prosecutor and a company in which criminal charges are filed but prosecution is deferred in exchange for cooperation,...
Facilitation payment
A small payment to a government official to expedite a routine official action. The FCPA exempts such payments; the UK Bribery Act...
OECD Anti-Bribery Convention
The 1997 OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, requiring its 44 signatories to criminalise active...
UK Bribery Act 2010
A UK statute creating four offences: paying a bribe, receiving a bribe, bribing a foreign public official, and the corporate offence of...

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