The Department of Justice's fraud section recently posted some interesting new material to its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Website: rare anti-corruption documents that any bribery history buff will appreciate.

Of particular note, the Justice Department has significantly expanded its archives of FCPA cases. Those cases now date back to 1977, rather than 1998.

The Justice Department also added to the FCPA Website an image of the original “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977.” In general, the law prohibits bribery payments to foreign government officials for the purposes of obtaining or retaining business. Notable signatories include former President Jimmy Carter, then-Speaker of the House Thomas “Tip” O'Neill (D-Mass.), and then-Senate acting president pro tempore Lee Metcalf (D-Mont.).

Another newly added item includes an image of the original “Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988,” which included revisions to the FCPA. To avoid imposing criminal liability for mere negligence, one particular revision to the 1977 FCPA limited criminal liability against only those who have actual knowledge of such misconduct. Signatories of that Act include former President Ronald Reagan, then-House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Texas), and then-president pro tempore of the Senate John Stennis (D-Miss.)

The FCPA Website also now includes the original image of the “International Anti-Bribery and Fair Competition Act of 1998,” which made some technical revisions to the FCPA to conform to the standards of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Anti-bribery Convention. One notable provision allows the U.S. government to prosecute any U.S. national who violates the FCPA, even for acts committed outside the United States. The 1998 Act includes the signatures of former President Bill Clinton, and then-president pro tempore of the Senate Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.)

The Justice Department confirms that the updates were made to the Website this past summer to provide the public with additional information on the FCPA and the department's work.