News and commentary about white-collar crime, enforcement, and compliance
Harry Cassin
Publisher and Editor
Andy Spalding
Senior Editor
Jessica Tillipman
Senior Editor
Bill Steinman
Senior Editor
Richard L. Cassin
Editor at Large
Elizabeth K. Spahn
Editor Emeritus
Cody Worthington
Contributing Editor
Julie DiMauro
Contributing Editor
Thomas Fox
Contributing Editor
Marc Alain Bohn
Contributing Editor
Bill Waite
Contributing Editor
Shruti J. Shah
Contributing Editor
Russell A. Stamets
Contributing Editor
Richard Bistrong
Contributing Editor
Eric Carlson
Contributing Editor
Professor Elizabeth Spahn spoke for victims of bribery before most of us had discovered the topic. She has defended compliance as pro-business and condemned bribes for destroying capitalism. More eloquently than anyone else, she has stood for the idea — once derided and now embraced — that compliance and enforcement can change the world and help people live better lives.… Continue Reading
President Jimmy Carter signed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act into law in December 1977 (photo courtesy of Carter archives)The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention was signed in Paris in December 1997 and prohibited a specific form of active bribery: that of foreign public officials in international business transactions. … Continue Reading
New scholarship from Elizabeth Spahn tackles the opportunities and risks behind the new trend of multi-national antibribery enforcement.
It’s a topic crucial to nations joining the war against graft. And it’s no less important to anyone facing the threat of enforcement by two or more countries.… Continue Reading
There’s a wonderful article in the May 14 edition of the New Yorker by James Surowiecki about foreign bribery, the FCPA, and so-called ‘good bribes.’
Our contributing editor Andy Spalding said,
‘This is my favorite kind of bribery law commentary: not simplistic or polarizing, very nuanced and smart, but with a clear position to advocate.’… Continue Reading
Elizabeth Spahn’s post yesterday — Is Bribery Acceptable To People Abroad? — elicited this thoughtful comment:
_________________
Dear FCPA Blog,
I am a counter fraud and counter corruption consultant active in the East African region, where I am a native of.… Continue Reading
What do people abroad really think about bribery? Do the people of Mexico, for example, agree with claims that bribery is OK there because it’s the local custom?
A peek into the minds of folks living in cultures struggling with corruption can be found in a fascinating opinion survey by Juan Camilo Plata of the Latin American Public Opinion Project and published by Vanderbilt University [pdf here].… Continue Reading
Tim Worstall, contributor to Forbes and Fellow at the Adam Smith Institute in London, said out loud what some others still think and say privately. Writing about the recent Walmart Mexico scandal, Worstall said “So What?”… Continue Reading
Professor Elizabeth Spahn’s new scholarship on competing enforcement of antibribery laws has just been published. We’ve been a fan of Prof Spahn for a long time. But her new work kicks our admiration up a notch or two.… Continue Reading
Mike Koehler of the FCPA Professor talked to Reuters’ Brett Wolf this week about the DOJ’s promised FCPA guidance.
Don’t have high hopes for change, Koehler said.
Late last year, the DOJ’s Lanny Breuer announced his intention to release new FCPA guidance during 2012.… Continue Reading
A powerful, detailed rebuttal to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s proposals to amend the U.S. FCPA launched this month. Professorial powerhouses David Kennedy (Harvard Law School) and Dan Danielsen (Northeastern School of Law) issued their 84 page analysis, Busting Bribery: Sustaining the Global Momentum of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.… Continue Reading
Will ours be the time when international public corruption is finally tossed into the garbage can of history? There are plenty of reasons to think so.
Only five years ago, even thoughtful people believed overseas bribery was a victimless crime — a harmless agreement between two consulting adults.… Continue Reading
