Jurisdiction Untangled

So much of the buzz about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act right now concerns investigations of name-brand foreign companies — Siemens, BAE and Panalpina among them. Which makes it natural to ask, how do foreign companies come under the jurisdiction of the FCPA? The best explanation, we still think, comes from the United States Attorneys’ Manual. We’ve posted the following language before, but it’s worth repeating. The lesson here is that the jurisdictional trip wires are everywhere, and foreign companies with global businesses are likely to have a tough time slipping the grip of the FCPA. Here’s how the Department of Justice instructs its prosecutors to look at it:

Under the FCPA, U.S. jurisdiction over corrupt payments to foreign officials depends upon whether the violator is an “issuer,” a “domestic concern,” or a foreign national or business. An “issuer” is a corporation that has issued securities that have been registered in the United States or who is required to file periodic reports with the SEC. See 15 U.S.C. §§ 78c(a)(8), 78dd-1(a). A “domestic concern” is any individual who is a citizen, national, or resident of the United States, or any corporation, partnership, association, joint-stock company, business trust, unincorporated organization, or sole proprietorship which has its principal place of business in the United States, or which is organized under the laws of a State of the United States, or a territory, possession, or commonwealth of the United States. See § 78dd-2(h)(1).

Issuers and domestic concerns may be held liable under the FCPA under either territorial or nationality jurisdiction principles. For acts taken within the territory of the United States, issuers and domestic concerns are liable if they take an act in furtherance of a corrupt payment to a foreign official using the U.S. mails or other means or instrumentalities of interstate commerce. See §§ 78dd-1(a), 78dd-2(a). For acts taken outside the United States, U.S. issuers and domestic concerns are liable if they take any act in furtherance of a corrupt payment, even if the offer, promise, or payment is accomplished without any conduct within U.S. territory. See §§ 78dd-1(g), 78dd-2(i). In addition, U.S. parent corporations may be held liable for the acts of their foreign subsidiaries where they authorized, directed, or controlled the activity in question, as can U.S. citizens or residents, themselves “domestic concerns,” who were employed by or acting on behalf of such foreign-incorporated subsidiaries.

Prior to 1998, foreign companies, with the exception of those who qualified as “issuers,” and most foreign nationals were not covered by the FCPA. The 1998 amendments expanded the FCPA to assert territorial jurisdiction over foreign companies and nationals. A foreign company or person is now subject to the FCPA if it takes any act in furtherance of the corrupt payment while within the territory of the United States. There is, however, no requirement that such act make use of the U.S. mails or other means or instrumentalities of interstate commerce. See § 78dd-3(a), (f)(1). Although this section has not yet been interpreted by any court, the Department interprets it as conferring jurisdiction whenever a foreign company or national causes an act to be done within the territory of the United States by any person acting as that company’s or national’s agent.

(emphasis in original)

From the United States Attorneys’ Manual, Title 9, Criminal Resource Manual §1018 “Prohibited Foreign Corrupt Practices” (November 2000).

View CRM §1018 Here.