bribery

For decades, U.S. companies doing business overseas have had to avoid falling afoul of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits the bribing of foreign officials. But in the past few years, such corporate misbehavior is receiving more attention and increased enforcement, which is making executives nervous.

Seven companies involved in the oil and gas industries will pay the U.S. government a total of $236.5 million to settle corruption charges. An investigation by the SEC and the Justice Department alleges that the companies bribed overseas officials to lower customs duties, extend drilling contacts and streamline the permit process for oil drilling.

The allegations concern contract payments Schlumberger made several years ago to a consulting firm, Zonic Invest, which has ties to Yemen's government.

Federal investigators are looking into allegations that major drug companies, including Merck, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline, paid bribes overseas to boost sales and accelerate approvals.

Carl Greene ran the Philadelphia Housing Authority for years with little oversight, until recent revelations about a series of scandals from sexual harassment to financial mismanagement landed him in hot water. But Greene's misdeeds may be just a symptom of the problematic culture of U.S. housing authorities.

The Justice Department, which has been investigating bribes Hewlett-Packard allegedly paid in Russia, has asked the company to voluntarily turn over internal records.

Two federal agencies are investigating whether drugmaker Merck & Co. violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bars U.S. companies from bribing foreign officials.

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act makes it illegal for companies to pay foreign officials to get or retain business, and the U.S. government has been stepping up FCPA enforcement actions: More than three times as many FCPA cases were brought in 2009 than were filed in 2005.

A dedicated team of prosecutors will be going after large-scale foreign corruption, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Sunday. Main Justice reports this effort comes on top of the stepped-up prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The Department of Justice may file suit Tuesday over Arizona's controversial immigration law, but if the lawsuit is crafted as has been rumored, it will frustrate all sides in the debate, because it avoids the merits of the law and focuses instead on Arizona's lack of authority to enact it.