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Investigation of Complaints and Web Resources

Allegations of criminal violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) are generally investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), under the supervision of the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division. Investigations of allegations of civil violations of the record keeping and antibribery provisions by issuers may be investigated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These civil investigations may result in a criminal referral to the Criminal Division. It is important to realize that although the FBI is the primary investigative agency authorized to conduct investigations of FCPA allegations and is required by its internal regulations to bring any allegation of a violation of the FCPA to the Criminal Division, FCPA allegations may arise in a number of contexts, including agency audits, such as those conducted by the Department of Defense and the inspectors general of other agencies. When such allegations are brought to the attention of any Department of Justice attorney, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys, they must immediately be referred to the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division. The Fraud Section's webpage, available on both the Department's intranet and on the internet, contains the current version of the FCPA together with its legislative history, the opinion procedure, opinion procedure releases, international agreements, and interpretive guidance. See http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa/. [updated November 2000] [cited in USAM 9-47.100]