Penalties for individuals who have violated the FCPA can run up to \(\$ 250,000\) per violation and five years' imprisonment. Corporate fines can be up to \(\$ 2\) million per violation. Also, under the Alternative Fines Act, the Justice Department can seek to obtain two times the benefit the bribe attempted to gain, known as disgorgement. For example, if a company paid a bribe to obtain a \(\$ 100\) million contract for computer services for a foreign government, the potential fine could be twice the profit on that contract, or \(\$ 20\) million if the profit on the contract was \(\$ 10\) million. The Justice Department and the SEC continue a steady stream of FCPA charges. During 2010, FCPA charges peaked at 74. In 2011, there were 48 charges and in 2012 only 23. From 2013 to 2015, there were 25 FCPA cases brought against many large companies, including Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Avon, Hitachi, Mead-Johnson, Goodyear, and Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren Corporation reported that the Lauren Argentina subsidiary had been paying the customs agents in that country what was called "Loading and Delivery Expenses," ranging between \(\$ 750\) and \(\$ 3,847\) per payment, for a total of \(\$ 593,000\) over a five-year period in order to get Lauren goods into the country. In addition, the customs agents were given purses and other high-dollar items in order to secure their favor for goods entry. \({ }^{53}\) Lauren paid a \(\$ 1.6\) million fine to settle the case and closed the Argentina subsidiary. For 2016, there were nine cases through June, including Och-Ziff Capital Management and Embraer. Och-Ziff, one of the largest hedge funds, paid bribes to senior government officials in Libya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, and Niger. An Och-Ziff employee then ordered the removal of language from their internal audit report that called for an investigation of suspected bribery payments by a business partner. Och-Ziff paid a \(\$ 213\) million criminal penalty and agreed to have an independent compliance monitor to prevent future lapses under a deferred prosecution agreement. The U.S. Justice Department believes that, "U.S. companies that are paying bribes to foreign officials are undermining government institutions around the world. It is a hugely destabilizing force." 54 The Department prosecutes accordingly, Former Halliburton executive Albert J. Stanley (aka. Jack Stanley) received a seven-year sentence-the longest one ever imposed since the FCPA was passed in 1977. \({ }^{55}\) In 2008, Siemens agreed to pay a \(\$ 800\) million fine, the largest since the FCPA passage...........

 Discussion Questions
1. Explain the difference between a bribe and a facilitation payment.
2. Discuss the responsibilities of companies in preventing FCPA violations.