b'IntroductionBasic Overview of Statute 2020 StatisticsThe Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended,The DOJ resolved 27 cases in 2020. See Number15 U.S.C.78dd-1, et seq. (FCPA), makes it unlawfulof Actions by DOJ chart. for U.S. persons and entities and others who act withinThe SEC resolved nine FCPA cases in 2020. the jurisdiction of the U.S. to make payments to foreign government officials to assist in obtaining or retainingAccording to the Division of Enforcements 2020 business. It consists of two parts: the anti-bribery provi- Annual Report, issued in October 2020, its FCPA sion and the accounting provision.enforcement actions represented only 2% of its cases for the year. See Number of ActionsThe anti-bribery provision prohibit persons and entitiesby SEC chart.from making corrupt offers, payments, or promises of payment of money, or anything of value, to foreign offi- There were three actions in 2020 where multiple cials to obtain or retain business. Since 1977, the anti- regulators acted.bribery provision applied to all U.S. persons and certainTotal aggregate fines on entities for FCPA- foreign issuers of securities; but, the provision wasenforcement actions in 2020 was $5.8 billion; expanded in 1998 to apply to foreign firms and personsbetween 2010 and 2020 it totalled approximately within in the United States who cause the furtherance$19.1 billion. See Aggregate and Average Finesof corrupt payments.Per Year chart.The FCPAs accounting provision consists of two mainSECs Office of the Whistleblower Division ofrequirements. The first, known as the books andEnforcement has announced that in FY2020, it records component, requires companies to makereceived more than 23,650 tips, complaints, and and keep books and records that accurately and fairlyreferrals. The SEC opened 1,181 new inquires and reflect the corporations transactions. The second,investigations as a result of these tips. The report known as the internal controls component, requiresdoes not disclose how many of those involve alle-companies to create and maintain an adequate systemgations of FCPA violations.of internal accounting controls. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have concurrent jurisdiction to enforce different portions of the statute. Over the decades, these regulators have charged hundreds of companies and individuals with violations of the FCPA, resulting in billions of dollars in monetary sanctions, with significantly more enforce-ment activity in the past 20 years than in prior years.4'