More companies are investigated by Justice Department on corporate bribing

The Justice Department is increasing its prosecutions of alleged acts of foreign bribery by U.S. corporations, and at least 120 companies are currently under investigation.

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) that became law in 1977 is the main reason of investigating the companies, whose number has increased from 100 at the end of last year, as provides Mark Mendelsohn, a deputy chief in the Justice Department division overseeing the prosecutions. On the other hand, the number of his Federal Bureau of Investigation agents team members currently working on overseas bribery cases has also increased to 8 from 5 last year, stated Mr. Mendelsohn. 

These efforts began as a result of a series of business scandals earlier this decade, including the collapse of Enron. Many companies across the U.S. are now internally investigating whether they are at risk. Some are even calling the Justice Department themselves, in hopes of obtaining leniency.

The law states it is illegal for U.S. companies to pay or offer to pay foreign-government officials or employees of state-owned companies with the aim of gaining a business advantage. However, there are gray areas of the law, such as giving seasonal gifts that can be common in some countries, which are confusing companies.

It is also know that hiring a consultant to ferret out trouble internally can cost to a company around $7,500 for each employee a company wants to scrutinize.