A stronger, global push to fight corporate corruption

In a global economy, corruption also becomes global. And a lot of that corruption occurs when corporations offer bribes or kickbacks to government officials or other influential people in countries where they're trying to sell their products or services. But according to the magazine Business Ethics, the Obama administration is devoting more resources to fighting this corruption:

“It’s my view that the U.S. government – and not just the Justice Department, but the U.S. government more broadly – is going to focus on international corruption in a more comprehensive and even more rigorous way than it has in the past,” said Mark Mendelsohn, the Justice Department’s lead criminal prosecutor for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

... More cases are being built against individuals as well as companies, including senior and mid-level executives and third-party representatives. Total individual prosecutions increased to 44 in 2009 from only 6 in 2006, according to Mendelsohn.

... Investigators are no longer waiting for companies to voluntarily disclose FCPA violations and are instead using far more aggressive law enforcement techniques.

It's heartening to see tougher enforcement of laws against corruption internationally. Let's hope it's the start of a trend.