A widespread investigation into whether several banks, private-equity firms and hedge funds violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in their investment dealings with foreign government officials in Libya has garnered the attention of the Department of Justice.

The criminal probe follows alongside a civil investigation that the Securities and Exchange Commission launched against Goldman Sachs in 2011. Since that time, federal enforcement authorities have broadened the criminal and civil probe to include Credit Suisse Group; JPMorgan Chase; Societe Generale; private equity firm Blackstone Group; and hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Justice Department and SEC are focusing their investigation on a group of middlemen called “fixers,” operating in the Middle East, London and other countries. Specifically, they're trying to determine whether these fixers funneled bribery payments to Libyan officials on behalf of financial firms in exchange for business, the Journal reported.

In some instances, these fixers collected a so-called “finder's fee,” which could be considered a bribe, depending on the size of the fees and the agent's relationship with the parties of the transaction, the Journal reported.

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