FCPA Exceeds the Scope of its Name

Although the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act includes provisions addressing foreign bribery, Mike Koehler argues that “most FCPA enforcement actions (that is enforcement actions that charge or find violations of the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions) have nothing to do with foreign bribery and these provisions are among the most generic legal provisions one can possibly find.” As the latest example, Koehler cites a recent SEC settlement in which Healthcare Services Group will pay $6 million after being accused of accounting and disclosure violations that enabled it to report inflated quarterly earnings per share.