President Trump’s 2012 criticism of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is well-documented. At the time, news outlets reported that business mogul Trump commented on Wal-Mart’s alleged facilitation payments in Mexico to obtain various licenses and permits, opining that FCPA was a “horrible law and it should be changed,” and adding that it put U.S. businesses at a “huge disadvantage.” Trump went on to say, “[w]e are like the policemen for the world, it’s ridiculous.”
FCPA Under Previous Administrations
The FCPA was enacted nearly 40 years ago, but its enforcement only really began under President George W. Bush. The Obama administration stepped up enforcement further, opening more FCPA cases than all prior administrations combined. While the DOJ under Obama averaged 12 corporate FCPA resolutions each year from 2011 to 2015, 2016 was a record year for FCPA enforcement with a record 25 corporate resolutions and $2.43 billion in corporate fines and penalties collected by the DOJ and the SEC.
The FCPA Under President Trump
Continue Reading The First 100 Days: Uncertainty in FCPA Enforcement