By Chris Prentice
NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department will restart enforcement of the decades-old law outlawing foreign bribery, with a scaled-down approach aimed at reducing burdens on U.S. companies, according to a memo and remarks by a top official.
The new approach, detailed in a memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, will focus the DOJ’s scrutiny on alleged misconduct that hurts U.S. firms’ ability to compete with foreign rivals, involves key infrastructure and is tied to operations of a cartel or transnational criminal organization.
“The through-line is that these Guidelnes require the vindication of U.S. interests,” Matthew Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, said in prepared remarks at an anti-corruption event in New York on Tuesday.
The number of prosecutors in the DOJ’s unit tasked with enforcing that law has dwindled in recent months after Republican President Donald Trump ordered a pause in enforcement pending a department review.
Blanche’s memo indicates the DOJ will pursue scaled-down enforcement of the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which outlaws companies that operate in the U.S. from bribing foreign officials. The law has become a cornerstone of federal efforts to combat corruption.
All new FCPA investigations have to be authorized by top officials, the memo said.
Under Blanche, the DOJ has reviewed pending FCPA matters and chosen to close certain cases, Galeotti said, noting that fighting white-collar and corporate crime is a “critical” part of the Criminal division’s work.
The DOJ is changing other policies in its pursuit against white collar crime, including by promising it will decline to prosecute companies that report, cooperate and fix issues, Galeotti said.
(Reporting by Chris PrenticeAdditional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington)
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