The debut book by legal historian Severin Wirz, “Bribery Beyond Borders: The Story of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” is a timely reexamination of the landmark anti-corruption statute’s Cold War origins and modern-day relevance. Published by CCI Press, Wirz’s book arrives as the FCPA nears its 50th anniversary and faces renewed scrutiny from reformers, regulators and multinational corporations alike.
Told through the lens of human tragedies, dogged determination and political intrigue, Wirz’s book weaves together discrete threads in the years leading up to the passage of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, culminating in its final signing by President Jimmy Carter in 1977.
Below, an excerpt from “Bribery Beyond Borders” tells us what happened next.
The FCPA: From Dormant Law to Global Blueprint
In the years immediately following its passage, the FCPA seemed destined to languish in the annals of criminal law. The Reagan administration rarely enforced the statute, while outside the United States, proponents of a multilateral anticorruption treaty were met with fierce opposition.1 “A bunch of pip-squeak moralists running around trying to apply U.S. puritanical standards to other countries,” one businessman and early FCPA critic complained.2 As the U.S. trade deficit peaked in the…
