<Li> Reported by the joint conference committee on December 6, 1977; agreed to by the Senate on December 6, 1977 (agreed) and by the House on December 7, 1977 (349 - 0) </Li> <Li> Signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on December 19, 1977 </Li> <P> The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) (15 U.S.C. § 78dd - 1, et seq .) is a United States federal law known primarily for two of its main provisions, one that addresses accounting transparency requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and another concerning bribery of foreign officials . The act was amended in 1988 and in 1998 . As of 2012 there were continued congressional concerns . An ongoing debate asks whether FCPA enforcement discourages US companies from investing abroad . </P> <P> The idea of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is to make it illegal for companies and their supervisors to influence foreign officials with any personal payments or rewards . The FCPA applies to any person who has a certain degree of connection to the United States and engages in foreign corrupt practices . The Act also applies to any act by U.S. businesses, foreign corporations trading securities in the U.S., American nationals, citizens, and residents acting in furtherance of a foreign corrupt practice whether or not they are physically present in the U.S. This is considered the nationality principle of the act . Any individuals that are involved in those activities may face prison time . This act was passed to make it unlawful for certain classes of persons and entities to make payments to foreign government officials to assist in obtaining or retaining business . In the case of foreign natural and legal persons, the Act covers their deeds if they are in the U.S. at the time of the corrupt conduct . This is considered the protective principle of the act . Further, the Act governs not only payments to foreign officials, candidates, and parties, but any other recipient if part of the bribe is ultimately attributable to a foreign official, candidate, or party . These payments are not restricted to monetary forms and may include anything of value . This is considered the territoriality principle of the act . </P>

American firms are prohibited from bribing foreign officials under the