01/14/2010 10:35:14 AM EST
Robert Kennedy, the Travel Act and the FCPA
What does Robert Kennedy have to do with the Foreign Corrupt Practices and how has a nearly 50 year old statute aimed at US based organized crime now impacted the FCPA? It turns out quite a bit and perhaps it will be quite a bit more in significantly widening the scope of the FCPA.
Robert Kennedy’s contribution is that while Attorney General, he urged Congress to enact the Travel Act in 1961 which was passed as part of the same series of bills as the Wire Act and was a part of his program to combat organized crime and racketeering. The Travel Act is aimed at prohibiting interstate travel or use of an interstate facility in aid of a racketeering or an unlawful business enterprise. It prohibits the use of communications and travel facilities to commit state or federal crimes, but until now was mostly known for its use in prosecutions for domestic crimes. Its impact to the FCPA is that the Travel Act applies to foreign as well as interstate commerce; it can be also used to prosecute those US companies and individuals which engage in bribery and corruption of foreign officials AND commercial bribery and corruption of private foreign citizens.
The Travel Act elements are: (1) use of a facility of foreign or interstate commerce (such as email, telephone, courier, personal travel); (2) with intent to promote, manage, establish, carry on, or distribute the proceeds of: (3) an activity that is a violation of state or federal bribery, extortion or arson laws, or a violation of the federal gambling, narcotics, money-laundering or RICO statutes. This means that, if in promoting or negotiating a private business deal in a foreign country, a sales agent in the United States or abroad offers and pays some substantial amount to his private foreign counterpart to influence his acceptance of the transaction, and such activity may a violation of the state law where the agent is doing business, the Justice Department may conclude that a violation of the Travel Act has occurred. For instance, in the state of Texas there is no minimum limit under its Commercial Bribery statute (Section 32.43, TX. Penal Code), which bans simply the agreement to confer a benefit which would influence the conduct of the individual in question to make a decision in favor of the party conferring the benefit. As noted below, the state of California bans payment of more than $1,000 between private parties for the purposes of influencing a business decision.
Thomas Fox has practiced law in Houston for 25 years. He is now an Independent Consultant, assisting companies with FCPA and International Transaction issues. He was most recently the General Counsel at Drilling Controls, Inc., a worldwide oilfield manufacturing and service company. In this role, he oversaw the delivery of legal services for Drilling Controls and its corporate parent, Aibel Group Ltd., on a worldwide basis, with current emphasis on FCPA compliance, export and commercial operations. He can be reached via email at the following:
Phone: 832.744.0264