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Enthusiastic Enforcement, Informal Legislation: The Unruly Expansion Of The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Amy D. Westbrook

Georgia Law Review

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was enacted
over thirty years ago to prohibit bribery of foreign officials
by U.S. persons. In the last few years, the Department of
Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) have dramatically expanded the FCPA
through a surge in its enforcement. Responding to
complex developments in law, the global economy, and
agency politics, the DOJ and the SEC have brought ten
times as many cases as in prior years, and assessed
hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties. At the same
time, the substantive reach of the law has been extended
through …