U.S. firms and individuals seeking to do business in foreign markets must be familiar with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 78dd-1, et seq., which, in general, prohibits corrupt payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business. The antibribery provisions of the FCPA make it unlawful for a U.S. person, and certain foreign issuers of securities, to make a corrupt payment to a foreign official for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business for or with, or directing business to, any person. They also apply to foreign firms and persons who take any act in furtherance of such a corrupt payment while in the United States. Consistent with the FCPA, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has brought about anti-bribery recommendations to combat bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions, which the U.S. Government has agreed to follow in its export credit practices.

Congress enacted the FCPA to bring a halt to the bribery of foreign officials and to restore public confidence in the integrity of the American business system. Several firms that paid bribes to foreign officials have been the subject of criminal and civil enforcement actions, resulting in large fines and suspension and debarment from federal procurement contracting, and their employees and officers have gone to jail. To avoid such consequences, many firms have implemented detailed compliance programs intended to prevent and to detect any improper payments by employees and agents. Ex-Im Bank reserves the right to require that exporters and, where appropriate, applicants, disclose, upon demand: (i) the identity of persons acting on their behalf in connection with the transaction, and (ii) the amount and purpose of commissions and fees paid, or agreed to be paid, to such persons.

Ex-Im Bank has adopted guidelines for Transaction Due Diligence Best Practices, which will improve the transparency and effectiveness of Ex-Im Bank’s due diligence policies. The “know-your-customer” guidelines help the Bank’s partners more easily identify the key risk issues the Bank considers in evaluating applications.

The guidelines also benefit taxpayers by balancing the efficient and timely execution of the Bank’s mission – supporting exports to create U.S. jobs – with ensuring that Ex-Im Bank supports creditworthy and legitimate transactions.

Page Last Updated: January 11, 2008