Can or should the U.S. continue to lead the fight against international graft?
On the 2011 corruption perceptions index released last week by Transparency International, the United States fell again, landing a couple of places lower at number 24.
It’s not a terrible ranking. But it means Barbados, Chile, and Qatar are among the countries perceived as less corrupt than America.
A year ago, the U.S. for the first time fell out of the CPI’s top twenty. We asked then if America was still fit to lead the fight against bribery.
The question is more important this year. After falling even lower in the CPI, and after a hung jury in the first Africa sting trial and a post-verdict dismissal in the Lindsey prosecution, there’s new uncertainty about America’s integrity and the way it enforces the FCPA.
So it’s fair to wonder if the country’s unbowed rhetoric against overseas public corruption is helping or hurting the case for compliance.
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The FCPA Database is the world’s largest database of global anti-corruption legislation. It includes over 130 country profiles that contain anti-corruption laws and, where available, anti-money laundering legislation, privacy laws, enforcement agencies, IMF reports, OECD reports, a global directory of more than 2,200 law firms, over 60 law firm memos on anti-corruption enforcement and compliance, and more.
1 Comment
The FCPA only focuses on those who pay bribes to foreign officials. What about private sector bribery, or domestic bribery to American government officials?
These are also areas where America is clearly not leading the charge on bribery.
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