Additional Tips for Success in
Combatting Bribery and Corruption

On July 3, 2020, quietly and with little fanfare, the Criminal Division of the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released the 133-page Resource Guide to the US Foreign Corruption Practices Act, Second Edition (“the FCPA Resource Guide”). This came just a month after DOJ’s publication of its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs guidance, an update to the April 2019 guide.

The first edition of the FCPA Resource Guide was published in 2012. The DOJ and SEC reiterate that while many aspects of the first edition of the FCPA Resource Guide hold true today, the second edition seeks to address updates to new cases, laws, and policies related to the FCPA. The guidance includes case studies, examples, and hypotheticals to demonstrate the fact patterns that have occurred during FCPA-related prosecutions. While compliance professionals may believe this updated guidance was long overdue, much of the updated guidance reiterates what those in the space have already been practicing.

The Resource Guide to the FCPA, Second Edition reiterates that a “one-size-fits-all” or “check-the- box“ approach to compliance will not be successful in combatting bribery or corruption, and will not be looked favorably upon by enforcement agencies. Compliance programs must not be static and must adjust, especially when high-risk parties are identified. With that in mind, Steele Compliance Solutions Inc., in its role to assist companies prevent corruption in the first instance, has identified the following key updates and takeaways from the second edition of the FCPA Resource Guide.