By Danny Fenster
ticklethewire.com
The Software company Oracle is being investigated by the FBI, reports the Guardian, in what some see as a trend in the increase of prosecutions under the foreign corrupt practices act (FCPA), which forbids U.S. companies from paying bribes to foreign government officials or employees of state-owned companies.
“Every week there seem to be more and more companies going through what Oracle is going through,” said Butler University professor Mike Koehler, who maintains a blog on the subject, according to The Guardian.
Koehler cited increasing globalization and the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which brought stricter corporate disclosure requirements, for the increase. He said FCPA actions in 2010 accounted for 50% of the fines levied by the Justice department’s criminal division.
“The Justice Department brought 24 enforcement actions in 2010, up from five in 2004, and has brought seven so far this year,” the Guardian reports.
Other software companies have or are facing similar concerns; Hewlett-Packard is currently under investigation, and IBM paid the SEC $10 million this year on similar charges.
Investigators are looking at whether or not Oracle or it’s employees paid government officials to secure software contracts in western and central Africa.
OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST
- Acting ATF Director Inherits Congressional Inquiries (USA Today)
- Dozens Arrested in ATF Sting in Ohio (Fox News)
- DEA Agent Busts Meth Lab (St. Augustine Record)
- FBI Focuses on Lone Wolf Attacks (Newsmax)
- U.S. Counterterror Chief Says al Alqaida on the Ropes (AP)
- Man Accused of Assault With Live Power Lines (NBC Washington)
- Billing Dispute Reveals CIA Rendition Flight (AFP)
