The federal government continues to thump its chest over the number of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prosecutions it has brought worldwide, according to a recent White House fact sheet, describing its global anti-corruption accomplishments, to date.

Pursuing corrupt actors and retrieving the proceeds of corruption hidden in the U.S. financial system continue to be a top priority for the United States. Since 2009, federal prosecutors have resolved criminal cases against more than 50 companies worldwide with penalties of approximately $3 billion resulting from violations of the FCPA, according to the fact sheet. Additionally, prosecutors have convicted more than 50 individuals, including chief executive officers, chief financial officers, and other high-level corporate executives for FCPA-related crimes.

“The United States continues to take action to prevent the U.S. legal and financial systems from being exploited by those who engage in, or launder the proceeds of, corruption,” the fact sheet stated. The U.S. government said it will continue to work with allies and partners, including in the Open Government Partnership, the G20, and the OECD Working Group on Bribery “to improve transparency, integrity, and accountability worldwide.”

As part of that effort, the United States continues to work with partner governments to pursue recovery of the proceeds of corruption, including through the establishment of the recent Ukraine Forum on Asset Recovery and the Arab Forum on Asset Recovery, which are initiatives in support of asset recovery efforts in those respective countries.  Furthermore, the United States has established anti-kleptocracy units of investigators and prosecutors dedicated to cooperate with other countries on asset recovery.

Additionally, the fact sheet stated that the Obama Administration will “advocate for legislation to close gaps in our money laundering laws regarding the proceeds of certain crimes committed abroad.”

Extractives Industry

The U.S. government further indicated that it is taking several actions to improve transparency in the extractives industry, and ensure that extractives companies and governments remain accountable. For example, the fact sheet stated, the United States intends to “conduct a review of how the U.S. government integrates international best practices for transparency in the extractive industries in its foreign policy engagements.”

The White House said it’s also working with the G-7 and other partners “to improve assistance to governments for negotiating complex contracts with the private sector to promote the adoption of more sustainable agreements." These efforts include supporting the launch of www.negotiationsupport.org to provide requesting governments a complete picture of the negotiation process, and to connect them with further assistance.

Shell Companies

In other efforts to promote transparency and counter corruption worldwide, the U.S. government also is currently focused on how to prevent the abuse of anonymous shell companies.  “The United States is taking several actions to prevent corrupt actors from using anonymous shell companies to engage in, or launder, the proceeds of corruption,” the fact sheet stated.

For the fiscal year 2015 budget, President Barack Obama proposed legislation to give law enforcement access to the identity of natural persons exercising control over legal entities organized in the United States in order to facilitate law enforcement investigations and enhance transparency, according to the fact sheet.

In August 2014, the Department of the Treasury published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking to clarify and strengthen customer due diligence obligations for U.S. financial institutions, including a requirement to identify beneficial owners of certain customers that are legal entities.

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