[20040902]RS21925_《反海外腐败法》：法律概述.pdf

Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS21925September 2, 2004Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: A LegalOverviewMichael V. SeitzingerLegislative AttorneyAmerican Law DivisionSummaryThe Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 was enacted principally to preventcorporate bribery of foreign officials. This act had three major parts: 1. It required thekeeping by corporations of accurate books, records, and accounts; 2. It required issuersregistered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to maintain a responsibleinternal accounting control system; and 3. It prohibited bribery by Americancorporations of foreign officials.For a number of years after passage of the act, Congress debated amending it inresponse to numerous criticisms. On August 23, 1988, the President signed into law theOmnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, of which Title V is known as theForeign Corrupt Practices Act Amendments of 1988.The Amendments maintained the three major parts of the 1977 Act, but significantchanges were made. One of these changes enacted a “knowing” standard in order to findviolations of the act. This standard was in