MyComplianceOffice Blog

Attorney Thomas Fox cannot believe how history is repeating itself with new bribery and corruption charges in China’s healthcare industry. Fox breaks down what happened, identifies the different types of bribery schemes that occurred, and provides red flags organizations should be looking for to prevent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations in a multi-part blog series.  

Earlier this year, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced for the first time ever, the regulatory body is cracking down on foreign corruption that impacts U.S. commodity and derivatives markets. The regulator also recently issued an advisory to would-be corporate whistleblowers that they could be financially rewarded for their actions, signaling stepped up enforcement actions.  

Franchisors are an example of a type of corporation more susceptible to misconduct risk than others, primarily because of their reliance on international distributors. Franchisors must therefore conduct rigorous internal compliance programs to ensure they are adhering to U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the U.K. Bribery Act requirements. Both regulations are international in reach and make it a crime to bribe a foreign official to secure an improper business advantage.  

According to U.S regulators, one of the most common reasons companies are citied for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations is they have beautifully written compliance policies and procedures that are simply not implemented or enforced. Often, the regulators say, management is to blame either through a lack of commitment to a compliance program or sometimes even purposefully trying to circumvent it.  

Approximately 90 percent of  Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions involve a third party. That’s according to a recent article in the FCPA blog. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken notice, including an entire section on third-party risk management as part of its updated guidance for evaluating corporate compliance programs.