The landmark ruling by a U.S. appeals court on Friday defining “instrumentality” under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act left attorneys in the FCPA bar to discuss its meaning.
Prosecutors had pursued FCPA cases under a broad definition of “instrumentality” that included state-owned companies and their employees, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruling last week endorsed the U.S. government’s theory: It defined an “instrumentality” under the FCPA is an entity controlled by a foreign government that performs a function the government treats as its own. Experts who spoke to Risk & Compliance Journal, however, were divided on what the appellate court meant with its instrumentality ruling.
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