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US Gets Tough on Foreign Bribery

Royal Dutch Shell, Sun Micro among 120 being investigated

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted May 26, 2009 8:06 AM CDT
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(Newser) – US corporations are looking over their shoulders, thanks to a Justice Department crackdown on foreign bribery, the Wall Street Journal reports. At least 120 companies are being investigated under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA—a nearly-forgotten Nixon-era law dusted off in the wake of a rash of corporate scandals—which forbids companies from currying favor with foreign governments with payments or gifts. Among those being investigated are Sun Microsystems and Royal Dutch Shell.

Titan Corp and Lucent have both been forced to pay big fines in recent years for violating the law, and now companies are looking for ways to protect themselves. Some have even called the Justice Department to confess, hoping for leniency. “When you have a law that can result in jail time,” said the president of an anti-bribery nonprofit, “and that you can violate without actually realizing it, that's terrifying.”

Exterior view of Sun Microsystems offices in Menlo Park, Calif., Monday, April 20, 2009.
Exterior view of Sun Microsystems offices in Menlo Park, Calif., Monday, April 20, 2009.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
A Shell gas station sign is posted in Palo Alto, Calif., in this Oct. 26, 2006 file photo.
A Shell gas station sign is posted in Palo Alto, Calif., in this Oct. 26, 2006 file photo.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
In this Nov. 28, 2008 file photo, gas prices posted at a Shell gas station in Stockton, Calif.
In this Nov. 28, 2008 file photo, gas prices posted at a Shell gas station in Stockton, Calif.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
In this Nov. 14, 2008 file photo, the exterior view of Sun Microsystems Inc. headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif. is shown.
In this Nov. 14, 2008 file photo, the exterior view of Sun Microsystems Inc. headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif. is shown.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
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Sun says it may have violated bribery law
Reuters

Shell 'played role in activist execution'
Telegraph (UK)

 
Department of Justice • bribery • Sun Microsystems • Alcatel Lucent • Royal Dutch Shell

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