By Rita Glavin and Star Zhang

First enacted in 1977 and amended since then, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the "FCPA") is aimed at combating international government bribery. In general, it prohibits corrupt payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business and requires companies to keep accurate books and records and to devise and maintain an effective internal control system.

The Fraud Section of the Department of Justice (DOJ) has resolved nearly 40 FCPA-related actions since 2004, totaling more than $1.5 billion in combined fines. The past two years have seen a more significant increase in the number of cases and the value of settlements, e.g., $800 million for Siemens (2008), $579 million for Kellogg Brown & Root LLC / Halliburton (2009), and $400 million for BAE Systems (2010). Read the entire article here.