The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was signed into law in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter. The purpose of the FCPA is to make it unlawful for certain people and entities to make payments to foreign powers to assist them obtaining or retaining business. Using foreign powers to assist with businesses is essentially a commercial bribe. The bribe can be anything of value. It does not have to be money, it could be a vacation or a car. A violation of the FCPA can result in expensive fines and imprisonment, and also a major detriment to the person's career. If you are facing foreign bribery charges, contact a Michigan FCPA lawyer right away. A seasoned attorney could help build a defense while giving you legal advice throughout the process.
Applying FCPA to Criminal CasesFCPA criminal offenses are applied to people who are doing business with foreign governments or foreign entities. If an individual operating within the confines of the United States, then, in most cases, they do not have to worry about the FCPA. When a person is making deals with foreign companies or foreign governments, then they could be violating the FCPA. The FCPA was put in place to punish people who are involved in corruption. For any more information about the criminal aspects of bribery, call a Michigan FCPA lawyer.
Example of FCPA ViolationsAn example of a violation of the FCPA could be if the government of Brazil is trying to decide whether or not they are going to buy 15 new airplanes for the Air Brazilia, and Boeing says it is competing for the contract and Airbus is also competing for the contract. This airplane contract could be worth $150 to $250 million. Therefore, someone from one of the companies may bribe one of the government officials a million dollars to get the contract because the contract is worth the bribe.
Any time foreign governments are doing business with American companies, one needs to make sure that the American company is not conspiring with the government in order to get the job. Many American businesses will defend their actions by saying that other countries do not necessarily play by the rules and so they feel like they are hamstrung by the FCPA.
How a Michigan FCPA Lawyer Can HelpIf you are charged with violating the FCPA, the first action you should take is hiring a Michigan FCPA lawyer. Whether you are actually guilty or innocent, you are going to want to obtain legal counsel as quickly as possible. If you are guilty, you need to minimize the number of expenditures you are going to have and try to settle the case before it is even filed or brought in a formal context. An accomplished attorney can assist by negotiating the best possible deal for you.
If you are proven not guilty of the offense, a well-trained lawyer can aid by gathering the facts and building a defense for the case. A Michigan FCPA lawyer is going to have plenty of experience and knowledge of bribery cases to provide you with the help you need.