The United States has strong safeguards against corruption, which include an independent law enforcement system, a free press, and an active civil society sector, furthermore, a variety of regulations and oversight institutions within the government are designed to tackle conflicts of interest and other situations that could lead to wrongdoing (FitW 2021). The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act) and the Hobbs Act provide for investigation, prosecution, and criminal penalties for public corruption, including abuse of office and extortion. The Travel Act criminalizes bribery of US government officials and commercial bribery. Money laundering is criminalized by the Money Laundering Control Act. The anti-corruption legal framework is enhanced by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), which addresses fraudulent practices in enterprises, ensures the accuracy of corporate disclosures, and provides penalties of up to 10 years in prison for retaliation against whistleblowers. The Securities and Exchange Commission provides monetary rewards for individuals that lead to FCPA action resulting in recoveries exceeding USD 1M. The Dodd-Frank Act also introduces rewards to whistleblowers for information that leads to successful enforcement action. A bill expanding the protections for federal whistleblowers has been signed by President Trump in 2018, the bill gives federal whistleblowers more options to appeal retaliation claims (Bloomberg, Jul. 2018). The Trump administration issued an executive order in 2017 that limited the ability of appointees to shift to lobbying work after leaving government, but the same order also eased restrictions on lobbyists moving into government (FitW 2021). US public procurement is well regulated by the Federal Acquisition Regulation which aims to contain corruption risks and applies to all executive and military departments, and to state-owned companies. It contains provisions on conflicts of interest and increases the use of suspension and debarment on companies guilty of fraud and breach of contract.
The most widely enforced anti-corruption law in the world is the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which prohibits US persons and entities from bribing foreign government officials. FCPA Resource Guide and FCPA Compliance Quick Guide can help companies avoid corruption risks abroad and help comply with legislation. The FCPA provides a narrow exception for facilitation payments and for recorded gifts of appropriate, minimal value. Gifts and facilitation payments may, however, violate other anti-corruption laws depending on their value and purpose. Under the Justice Department’s new enforcement policy, companies may obtain a settlement provided there is voluntary disclosure of violations, cooperation with the authorities, remediation, and root cause analysis.
In 2021, President Biden formally announced that combating corruption is a core United States national security issue and released the administration’s strategy on countering corruption outlining the government’s plans. This likely means that the Biden administration will intensify enforcement of FCPA (JD Supra, Jun. 2021).
The US has ratified the OECD Convention on Bribery of Foreign Officials in International Business Transactions (exception for facilitation payments), the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), the Council of Europe’s Criminal Law Convention against Corruption, the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Enforcement of the anti-corruption legislation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is effective, and companies in the US are under increasing pressure to comply with stringent and wide-reaching anti-corruption legislation (SGI 2020).