Financial Transparency Coalition

It pains me to report that The Economist published a shoddy piece of journalism today on the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.   The article can be read in full here. Heather Lowe, Legal Counsel and Director of Government Affairs at Global Financial Integrity, has responded to the article by publishing the following comment on The Economist's website:

I am quite surprised by both the tenor and lack of critical analysis in this particular piece. It is important that Economist readers understand the following:

As many of our readers know, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is under assault by the Chamber of Commerce and some members of Congress.  This valuable statute prohibits domestic companies from bribing foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business opportunities abroad and has a purposefully broad reach, extending to any company operating globally with securities registered in the U.S. It should go without saying this kind of corruption undermines the integrity of foreign governments and competitive business practices internationally.  In spite of this, the Chamber of Commerce wants to “reform” the statute so corporations can more easily...

On Wednesday, the SEC announced a $16 million settlement in an FCPA case filed against Diageo, Inc. The company, which dominates the global liquor market, was accused of spending at least $2.7 million on bribes through its Asian subsidiaries, and omitting or mislabeling those funds in SEC filings. These bribes were given to government and military officials in South Korea, India, and Thailand in order to gain a variety of advantages, from tax breaks to more beneficial policies in transfer pricing negotiations. Bribes included trips to Europe, while one Thai bureaucrat received $12,000 a month for helping...

Tom Cardamone, Managing Director at Global Financial Integrity, continues his biweekly op-ed series with TrustLaw.  In today's column, he announced a forthcoming petition calling on legislators to help defend the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bans the bribery of foreign public officials. Explaining the purpose of the petition, Mr. Cardamone writes:

"The petition, which is expected to be released in the next few days, is targeted at Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, who has said he will craft a bill that brings the law 'up to date.'  Sensenbrenner chairs a subcommittee of the powerful House Judiciary Committee which convened a...