what is the foreign corrupt practices act fcpa 
the foreign corrupt practices act fcpa the act is a united states law that prohibits u s firms and individuals from paying bribes to foreign officials to further business deals the fcpa contains two main articles the fcpa applies to prohibited conduct anywhere in the world and extends to both u s publicly traded companies and privately held companies understanding the foreign corrupt practices actthe foreign corrupt practices act targets corruption and bribery internationally paying foreign officials for expediting legal processes or obtaining contracts was a common business practice around the world well into the 1970s in some countries in fact corporations routinely wrote off bribes as normal business expenses when filing their tax returns being common however does not make this behavior desirable or ethical 1