DOJ official says U.S. targeting more corporate bribery in Asia

SINGAPORE – The United States is pursuing more companies and individuals for bribery in cooperation with other governments, Nathaniel Edmonds, assistant chief of the Justice Department’s fraud unit, said Wednesday at a conference here.

“The pace is accelerating and that’s no accident,” he said, noting the department has prosecuted more than 80 individuals under U.S. anti-bribery laws since 2004. More than 40 companies have been prosecuted and fined a total of $2 billion in the same period, he said, without providing comparative figures.

A Hollywood couple was sentenced to six months in prison last month after they were convicted of paying bribes to win a contract to run the Bangkok International Film Festival. Avon Products in April suspended four executives at its China unit as part of an internal investigation into its compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Asian governments from China to Indonesia have also been active against graft. Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings’ billionaire founder Huang Guangyu was sentenced to 14 years in jail in China for crimes including bribery while Indonesia has convicted former government officials for corruption.

The heightened enforcement has prompted companies in the region to implement compliance programs, said Gary Seib, a Hong Kong-based partner at Baker & McKenzie.

As part of the Justice Department’s plan to work closely with other governments, Edmonds said he’s been to China twice this year and is in Singapore this week. About $1 trillion, or 3 percent of the global economy, is lost to corruption each year, Edmonds said, citing World Bank data.

“Transnational bribery is a very risky venture,” Edmonds said. “Corruption can no longer be looked at as just a cost of doing business. The message needs to be clear – eventually the Department of Justice will find out, if improper conduct has taken place.”