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Business Law Reflection

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Learning Team Reflection
Amin Vohra, Michael D. Thomas, Ryan McCullum, Joe Nguyen, Shantel Singh
LAW/531
February 8th, 2012
Mr. James Blevins

Learning Team Reflection
This learning team reflection will discuss the compliance issues associated with the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act of 1977 (FCPA).
What is Foreign Corrupt Practice Act? For those who don’t know might ask, well, the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act of 1977 which was introduced in the U.S Senate as S.303 by Mr. William Proxmire (D.W) and signed into law by president Jimmy Carter on December 19, 1977 is a United States Federal Law known primarily for two of its main provisions. One that addresses accounting transparency requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and another one concerning bribery of foreign officials.
The anti-bribery provision of the FCPA prohibits any person from making use of interstate commerce corruptly, in furtherance of an offer or payment of anything of value to a foreign official, Foreign Political Party, or Candidate for political office, for the purpose of influencing any act of that foreign official in violation of the duty of that of that official, or to secure any improper advantage in order to obtain or retain business. ("Wikipedia")
The “Foreign Corrupt Practice Act” protects “American Values” it shields us from the rampant corrupt practices around the world. It holds us to the highest standards of ethics.
As the U.S corporations venture into foreign markets they must keep in mind that what is against the law in U.S such as Bribery could be accepted or even are part of their culture in some other country, especially when it comes to government contracts.
U.S corporations that do businesses in global market or have multinational locations should be very careful with “Foreign Corrupt Practice Act” because the FCPA issue can lead to personal Liability

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