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As you point out for a business the FCPA is both elementary, serious, and enitrely possible to comply with. That said the "jail time" provision is a joke. Goin

As you point out for a business the FCPA is both elementary, serious, and enitrely possible to comply with. That said the "jail time" provision is a joke. Going from memory no corporate officer has ever gone to prison for an FCPA violation. A handful have been hung out to pay nominal fines. The vast majority of personal culpability (when it does happen) are settled by the company. Edit: yes, some employees have gone to jail. But not officers that I can recall.

matt4077 9y ago
While I feel the same raging wish to see corrupt business leaders suffer, I think it's just the nature of these cases that most enforcement works via Civil liability. The FCPA is mostly concerned with larger, often public companies. Corruption at that level almost certainly is a sign of a organisational failure. It's the shared responsibility of a lot of people to create structures that don't allow for corruption. At the core of it are the incentives: for an employee to consider bribing someone, a lot must have gone wrong. After all it carries the risk of jail time for them, while any benefits go to their employer first.
- honestoHeminway 9y ago
  I distinctly remember that for quite some time doing buisness in israel put you on a black list on many arab countrys in the middle east. So finding out who bribed to do buisness with both sides- was as easy as clicking on the "subsidiary" map on many companys sides. And there they where, in peacefull coexistance, overcoming stupid hatred and propaganda with pocket butter.
  - dmoy 9y ago
    "Doing business"? Hell, setting foot in Israel puts you on a blacklist in many Arab countries, to the extent where if you do this often you generally carry two passports. Goes the other way around too... try going into Israel after having Lebanon or Syria stamps on your passport and enjoy an hour in a dimly lit room answering questions to a couple of stone faced idf officers.

matt4077 9y ago

While I feel the same raging wish to see corrupt business leaders suffer, I think it's just the nature of these cases that most enforcement works via Civil liability. The FCPA is mostly concerned with larger, often public companies. Corruption at that level almost certainly is a sign of a organisational failure. It's the shared responsibility of a lot of people to create structures that don't allow for corruption. At the core of it are the incentives: for an employee to consider bribing someone, a lot must have gone wrong. After all it carries the risk of jail time for them, while any benefits go to their employer first.

honestoHeminway 9y ago
I distinctly remember that for quite some time doing buisness in israel put you on a black list on many arab countrys in the middle east. So finding out who bribed to do buisness with both sides- was as easy as clicking on the "subsidiary" map on many companys sides. And there they where, in peacefull coexistance, overcoming stupid hatred and propaganda with pocket butter.
- dmoy 9y ago
  "Doing business"? Hell, setting foot in Israel puts you on a blacklist in many Arab countries, to the extent where if you do this often you generally carry two passports. Goes the other way around too... try going into Israel after having Lebanon or Syria stamps on your passport and enjoy an hour in a dimly lit room answering questions to a couple of stone faced idf officers.