FCPA violations in China: Lessons learned from 2023 cases

Third parties in China are at high risk of participating in bribery schemes with government employees. U.S. regulators have prosecuted violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in China more than any other country by a significant margin.

There have been 117 FCPA cases since 1978 involving violations in China prosecuted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to statistics compiled by law firm Gibson Dunn. Nigeria (77) was a distant second, followed closely by Mexico (67), Brazil (60), Indonesia (53), and Iraq (51).

This is not to say corruption in China is worse than the other countries, said Kelly Austin, a Gibson Dunn partner, in a recent webcast held by the firm on FCPA enforcement trends in emerging markets.