Enforcing the Foreign Corruption Practices Act in China

Nicholas Torres analyzes the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice rely on in investigating securities violations outside the United States. The United States and China are the world's two largest economies. As China continues to open its doors to foreign commerce, more corporations, which are publicly traded within the United States and subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, are conducting business within the boarders of China. Absence of an enforcement agreement between the U.S. and China's regulatory commissions, which would facilitate the exchange of evidence, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is increasingly difficult to enforce.

The U.S. and China's regulatory commissions have to advance their cooperation and encourage Chinese whistleblowers to come forward in order to facilitate implication of U.S. securities regulation within China.