Financial Transparency Coalition

The News Corp. phone-hacking and bribery scandal has developed quickly, every day bringing more stories of investigations, arrests, or pie-wielding British comics.  It's easy to get overwhelmed by the tide of details and lose track of the big issues.  In the United States, the investigation has taken an interesting turn, casting a foul light on lobbying efforts to undermine American anti-bribery legislation. On July 15, the Department of Justice confirmed an investigation into the News Corp. scandal.  In addition to investigating up to 4,000 alleged incidents of phone hacking, it appears that News Corp. bribed British police officers....

WASHINGTON, DC – News that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. donated $1 million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) months before the Chamber issued a proposal to relax elements of the nation’s flagship anti-corruption legislation, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), highlights the need to fully understand the ties between the Chamber and companies charged under the FCPA.

WASHINGTON, DC – After nearly a year of delays, the UK Bribery Act went into effect on July 1st. The act mandates stiff penalties, including up to 10 years in jail, for bribes paid by any business with a UK presence. In an ironic twist, while the UK Act is being touted as an extension to its cross-Atlantic counterpart, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), anti-bribery proponents charge that the FCPA is under attack.

Global Financial Integrity’s Legal Counsel and Director of Government Affairs Heather Lowe has written a guest blog on FCPA Professor in response to criticisms of GFI’s press release about the Chamber of Commerce’s proposed changes to the FCPA. Ms. Lowe examined the FCPA in relation to the new UK Bribery Act, noting that unlike the FCPA, “The UK Bribery Act criminalizes ALL forms of commercial bribery”. As a result, a compliance defense under the UK Bribery Act has different ramifications than under the less encompassing FCPA. She further notes that “Compliance in the UK is not...