When you work for an American company or a company with stock traded in the United States, it’s important to know what the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) says about bribing foreign officials. You might think that the law only applies to bribes paid by companies from other countries, but it also applies to bribery by U.S. companies. And if you report a company for violating the FCPA, you could be entitled to some pretty big financial rewards from whistleblower programs. FCPA lawyers focus on this area of the law. 

The FCPA is a U.S. law that prohibits the payment of bribes to foreign officials. The FCPA applies to any person or company that does business in the United States and can result in criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment for up to 10 years per violation.

The FCPA was enacted in 1977 as part of a broader anti-corruption effort by the U.S. government to maintain transparency within U.S.-based companies that are doing business abroad. The goal was simple: make sure businesses were not taking advantage of their access to foreign officials so they could win contracts at lower costs than competitors would pay if they didn’t play by these rules. Consult an FCPA lawyer for more specific information.

A whistleblower award is a payment you can receive from the U.S. government when you report a violation of U.S. law. An FCPA Whistleblower award is a payment you can receive for reporting violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). This can include providing information on companies that commit fraud, bribery, or engage in corrupt activities. The average whistleblower award is almost $5 million. If you want to claim a multi-million dollar whistleblower award, contact us now.

First, use our online evaluation to find out if you qualify for an award. If you qualify, our FCPA lawyers will handle everything for you for free in exchange for part of your reward. If you don’t get a reward, you don’t pay anything.

The average award paid by the SEC is almost $5 million.

Some whistleblower lawyers, like those at FTI Law, specialize in representing a certain type of whistleblower. We specialize in representing FCPA whistleblowers, which means whistleblowers who want to report bribery or corruption committed by a company traded on a US stock exchange. Often, FCPA whistleblowers are not from the United States, and we have cross-border expertise that helps us guide non-U.S. nationals through the whistleblower process. If you want to explore the idea of becoming an FCPA whistleblower, make sure to talk to one of our FCPA whistleblower lawyers as soon as possible.

FCPA fines are enormous and often run into the billions of dollars– allowing for significant rewards to be paid out under whistleblower programs. For example:

• In 2019 Swedish Telecom Giant Ericsson paid over $1 Billion to settle charges that it violated the FCPA in multiple countries by bribing public officials to win business.
• In 2020, French aeronautics company Airbus paid more than $3 billion to settle charges that it had made payments to government officials to help its business.
• In 2018, Brazilian Energy behemoth Petrobras paid over $1.7 billion to settle corruption and bribery charges.

With the possibility of such a large monetary reward, it’s wise to consult a professional. At FTI Law, you only pay your FCPA whistleblower lawyer if you win a reward.

A lot of companies have paid FCPA fines; here are a few:

• 2008 – Siemens AG paid $350 million to settle the SEC’s charges of violating the FCPA, as well as a $450 million fine to the DOJ to settle criminal charges.
• 2014 – ALCOA paid $175 million to the SEC and a fine of $209 million for bribing government officials in Bahrain.
• 2014 – Marubeni Corporation paid an $88 million fine for paying bribes to Indonesian government officials in order to win business.
• 2016 – Och-Ziff paid $413 million to settle charges that the company paid bribes to government officials in Africa.
• 2016 – JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay $264 million for hiring relatives of government officials who had influence over JP Morgan’s business. 
• 2016 – Odebrecht paid $3.5 billion following an enormous bribery scandal in Brazil.
• 2016 – Teva Pharmaceutical paid $519 million to settle charges that it paid bribes in Russia, Ukraine, and Mexico. 
• 2017 – Rolls-Royce paid $809 million as a result of a long-running scheme to bribe government officials in exchange for government contracts.
• 2017 – Orthofix International agreed to pay more than $14 million to settle charges that it bribes doctors and hospitals in Brazil in order to win more business. 

Large fines under the FCPA mean it is a good idea to use an FCPA lawyer to evaluate your claim.

Yes. With the help of an FCPA lawyer at FTI Law, you can report anonymously.

Many government agencies pay whistleblower rewards, but FTI Law specializes in helping people report to the most successful whistleblower program, which is run by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

FTI Law specializes in helping people report violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), but you can also report violations of any Securities Law, Commodities law, or tax law to the SEC, CFTC, or IRS.

The quickest and easiest way to find out is to take FTI Law’s online evaluation here before contacting one of our FCPA whistleblower lawyers. 

It’s an award-winning way to give you quick, simple answers for free.

If you think your company has violated the FCPA, you should say something. However, it is important to understand the risks and rewards associated with reporting violations. First, let’s take a look at the risks of reporting to your supervisor.

If you think your company has committed an FCPA violation and you tell your supervisor, be prepared for potential repercussions; reporting anonymously to a government run whistleblower program is often a safer bet. FCPA violations are criminal, and if your supervisor or others in the company think you are accusing them of being involved, you may face retaliation or harassment, which is why it is important to enlist protection from an FCPA lawyer. Retaliation against whistleblowers can take a number of forms:

• They may not promote or reward you for your efforts at work; 
• They could take away perks that were previously available to you;
• They could even fire you because they don’t want anyone around who knows what is going on behind closed doors at work.

Even if your company has a confidential reporting hotline, most whistleblowers will tell you that it is difficult to keep your identity a secret once you report within an organization. FTI Law offers free consultations with an FCPA whistleblower lawyer to help you navigate the reporting process. In addition, if you only report internally you will not qualify for anti-retaliation protection under Dodd-Frank. Ultimately, there is a lot of downside risk for reporting internally, and virtually no upside. Hopefully, someday this will change, and companies will provide whistleblower rewards to people who report violations, but for now, reporting internally is not a course of action you should embark upon without seeking legal advice first.

If you’re not sure whether your company would do the right thing and report itself for committing an FCPA violation, then it’s best to take matters into your own hands with the SEC whistleblower program. The good news is that the SEC lets you report FCPA violations anonymously if you enlist the help of a lawyer. In addition, the SEC will pay whistleblowers up to 30% of any fine they recover as a bounty for reporting the violation. The average whistleblower reward paid by the SEC is almost $5 million. This means you could become a millionaire for doing the right thing.

Another benefit of reporting to the SEC is that whistleblowers who report FCPA violations to the SEC get additional protections against retaliation from their employers. This means that if your company retaliates against you for speaking to the SEC, you can sue them for damages. However, in most cases, these protections only apply to workers in the United States. Employees from abroad can claim whistleblower awards but are usually not entitled to legal protection against retaliation. An FCPA lawyer can also provide protection by advising you on how best to report and where to report.

Yes. On May 19, 2021, the SEC announced an award of more than $28 million to a whistleblower whose tip led to Panasonic paying a $281 million FCPA settlement with a U.S.-regulators.

The SEC receives between 100-200 FCPA tips each year via its whistleblower program. Here are the figures:

• 2020 – 208 FCPA tips 
• 2019 – 200 FCPA tips 
• 2018 – 202 FCPA tips 
• 2017 – 210 FCPA tips 
• 2016 – 238 FCPA tips 
• 2015 – 186 FCPA tips
• 2014 – 159 FCPA tips 
• 2013 – 149 FCPA tips 
• 2012 – 115 FCPA tips 

Due to the high volume of tips, the SEC does not fully investigate all claims. Enlisting the help of an FCPA whistleblower lawyer can ensure your claim is investigated.

As of December 2022, here are the top ten fines paid for FCPA infractions: 

1. Odebrecht – $3,557,626,137
2. Goldman Sachs – $2,617,088,000
3. Airbus – $2,091,978,881
4. Petrobras – $1,786,673,797
5. Ericsson – $1,060,570,832
6. Telia Company – $965,604,372
7. Mobile Telesystems – $850,000,400
8. Siemens – $800,002,000
9. VimpelCom – $795,326,798
10. Alstom – $772,291,200

FCPA violations involve a company giving something of value to a foreign official in order to obtain a business advantage. An FCPA lawyer can go into more specifics on what qualifies for a whistleblower program, but here are some examples:

• A company pays a bribe to a government minister in order to win a contract from the government;
• A company gives a job to the son of a government official in order to gain favor with the government;
• A company pays for vacation and travel for a government employee who has control over whether the company obtains a license;
• A company promises a government official that if they win business from the government, the company will subcontract work to a local company owned by the family of the government official;
• A company bidding on a government contract pays money to a third-party consultant who promises that he can obtain inside information on other bids from contacts he has within the government.

The greatest protection an FCPA whistleblower has is their anonymity. By using a qualified lawyer, an FCPA whistleblower can report FCPA violations to government whistleblower programs without ever revealing their identity.

In addition, if the whistleblower works in the United States and reports the violation at their company, the whistleblower is protected against retaliation under two federal laws (Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank).

For individuals convicted of FCPA violations, penalties can include:

• Up to five years in imprisonment
• Up to $100,000 in criminal penalties
• Up to $10,000 in civil penalties

For companies convicted of FCPA violations, penalties can include:

• Up to $2,000,000 in criminal penalties
• Up to $10,000 in civil penalties

For more specific questions regarding potential consequences, consult an FCPA lawyer.

The FCPA has two main provisions:

• (1) an anti-bribery provision that makes it illegal for companies to make corrupt payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business and 
• (2) an accounting provision that requires companies to have an adequate system of ‘internal controls’ to ensure that the companies’ transactions are recorded properly and executed in accordance with management’s directions.

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is a U.S. law that prohibits people from paying bribes to foreign officials to further business. Both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are responsible for enforcing the FCPA. An FCPA lawyer focuses on violations of this law, and whistleblower programs exist to encourage reporting.

The FCPA Report is a part of FTI Law’s blog dedicated to FCPA issues. If you want to learn more about the FCPA, compliance violations or whistleblower rewards, check out the FCPA Award Journal here. If you are looking for more information on FCPA enforcement, you can also take a look at our annotated FCPA Resource Guide.