RECLAIMING AMERICA’S LEADERSHIP ROLE IN THE GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
On the eve of the 2016 presidential election, vice president Joe Biden wrote: “In more than 40 years of public service, I have never been more optimistic about America’s future – if only we continue to lead.” By some measure, the US has continued to lead the world in the fight against corruption under the Trump administration. The number of enforcement actions under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) remained high. Civil and criminal penalties for foreign bribery extracted under the FCPA shattered records, with over $6bn in fines and disgorgements in 2020 alone.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have telegraphed their continued high expectations for anti-corruption compliance through public speeches and updates to enforcement policy and guidance materials. After a year-long review, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Working Group on Bribery in November released its evaluation report for the US, praising the country’s “leading role in the fight against transnational bribery” and “sustained commitment to enforcing its foreign bribery offence as well as its key role in promoting the implementation of the [OECD Anti-bribery] Convention”.
And yet, it is almost impossible to write about international praise for the US’ anti-corruption leadership and robust enforcement efforts with a straight face. By all accounts, those efforts during the last four years have been in audacious defiance of the express views, wishes and policy goals of the highest office.
Jan-Mar 2021 Issue
TRACE