[author: Gerry Zack]
Things are changing when it comes to anticorruption. The U.S. Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA)— passed in December 2023—makes demanding, seeking, receiving, accepting, or agreeing to receive or accept a bribe a crime. FEPA also gives U.S. prosecutors an extraterritorial reach similar to what they have enjoyed with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). For example, like the FCPA, FEPA violations can occur when the bribe or solicitation involves a U.S. issuer of stock, a U.S. domestic concern, or any person while in the territory of the U.S. FEPA criminalizes the “demand side” of foreign corruption, just as FCPA has addressed the “supply side” for many years.
Equally significant is the evolving view (outside the compliance community) of corporations and their roles in stemming corruption. For too long, the anticorruption community had viewed business as just another part of the supply side of the corruption equation. Knowledge about compliance programs was spotty at best, and there was much public skepticism about corporate efforts to avoid paying bribes.
While some may remain skeptical, the tide has seemingly turned. At June’s biennial International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) held in Vilnius, Lithuania— organized by Transparency International—there were numerous sessions addressing the roles the business community in general and compliance programs specifically play in stemming corruption. The seven-member IACC Council—which plans and oversees the conference—has not traditionally included active members of the compliance community. But this year, Klaus Moosmayer—chief ethics, compliance, and risk officer for Novartis—served as a member of the IACC Council. The compliance profession playing such an important role is a major step forward for the profession.
Progress was tough. Past scandals painted a negative picture of the business community, but hard-fought efforts to prevent bribery have paid off, with new recognition that global companies— with few exceptions—do not want to pay bribes. It is a great place for us to finally be, and SCCE will do what we can to solidify the gains. We had a presence at IACC and look forward to being there again in 2026.
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