NO CONSPIRACY OR COMPLICITY LIABILITY WHEN A STATUTE DRAWS SPECIFIC LINES AS TO ITS EXTRATERRITORIAL APPLICATION

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit addressed whether a nonresident foreign national may be liable based on conspiracy or complicity under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). The court held that the FCPA should be interpreted as it facially states, which contains no express provision assigning liability to nonresident foreign nationals “who lack an agency relationship with a U.S. person.” Additionally, the court reasoned that, from the process that the Senate and House went through while drafting the bill, Congress demonstrated an affirmative legislative policy in the FCPA in order to restrict criminal liability to certain types of defendants. Read the case note below.