Clifford Chance
US FCPA Jurisdiction in Asia Pacific: To Infinity and Beyond?
19 October 2012
Recent cases brought by US law enforcement have made it clear that companies who are not incorporated or operating in the United States, not listed on US stock exchanges, and not doing business anywhere in the United States can still be subject to jurisdiction under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In what must look like rocket science to some, jurisdiction can turn on nothing more than an email, a US dollar denominated transaction, or assisting a US business partner. Since over half of all US FCPA investigations last year involved conduct or companies based in Asia (Japan, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, South Korea and Taiwan), Asian companies are rightly wondering just how far US jurisdiction extends.
