Under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a natural or legal person who bribes a foreign public official may face criminal sanctions for bribery or, in the case of bribery on behalf of an “issuer” subject to U.S. securities laws, either criminal or non-criminal sanctions for bribery as well as false accounting or internal controls violations. Civil violations of the FCPA require a lower standard of proof than criminal violations. Criminal liability can be imposed on companies and individuals for knowingly and willfully failing to comply with the FCPA’s accounting provisions. Criminal violations of the accounting provisions often, but do not always, accompany a criminal bribery charge. Tax avoidance based on a failure to properly account for bribery also offers a criminal or civil basis for enforcement action.
Source: United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, United States Department of Justice, https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/foreign-corrupt-practices-act
