<P> As a result of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations in the mid-1970s, over 400 U.S. companies admitted making questionable or illegal payments in excess of $300 million to foreign government officials, politicians, and political parties . The abuses ran the gamut from bribery of high foreign officials to secure some type of favorable action by a foreign government to so - called facilitating payments that were made to ensure that government functionaries discharged certain ministerial or clerical duties . If the official has no choice but to bribe, and bribery is legal in the country, bribing is seen as greasing the wheels . One major example was the Lockheed bribery scandals, in which officials of aerospace company Lockheed paid foreign officials to favor their company's products . Another was the Bananagate scandal in which Chiquita Brands had bribed the President of Honduras to lower taxes . Congress enacted the FCPA to bring a halt to the bribery of foreign officials and to restore public confidence in the integrity of the American business system . </P> <P> The Act was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on December 19, 1977 . The first criminal enforcement action under the Act was against Finbar Kenny . Kenny had advanced Sir Albert Henry, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, $337,000 from postage stamp revenue for Henry's re-election campaign . In 1979, Kenny became the first American to plead guilty of violating the FCPA, and was fined $50,000 . </P> <P> The Act was first amended by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, where Title V is known as the' Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Amendments of 1988' . It introduced a "knowing" standard in order to find violations of the Act, encompassing "conscious disregard" and "willful blindness ." Other amendments were for "bona fide", "reasonable" and lawful gifts under the laws of the foreign country . </P> <P> The second amendment was the International Anti-Bribery Act of 1998 which was designed to implement the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention--i.e., to include certain foreign persons and extending the scope beyond U.S. borders . </P>

Under the foreign corrupt practices act employees of all u.s. companies must