Introduction

AuthorCecil C. Kuhne III
Pages1-2
1
PAR T 1
DOMESTIC BRIBES
The bribery of government of cials in this country and abroad has
long been condemned. Commercial bribery involving a foreign gov-
ernment of cial has been illegal under federal law since the Foreign
Corrupt Practices A ct (FCPA) was passed in 1977.
It is now generally accepted that the same policies apply to brib-
ery of private individuals. As a result, commercial briber y—the cor-
rupt dealing with agents or employees of prospective commercial
partners to secure an advantage over business competitors—is
now roundly condemned. In its most traditional form, commercial
bribery involves paying a kickback to a purchasing agent in order to
persuade that agent to buy the products of the bribe-payer rather
than those of a competitor. This form of private commercial bribery
is illegal in most states.
Interestingly, private commercial bribery is not explicitly prohib-
ited by federal law. But the US Department of Justice (DOJ) uses
state laws, in combination with wire-fraud st atutes and the Travel
Act, to prosecute domestic private commercial bribery. The Travel
Act makes it a federal crime to “travel or use the mail or any facility
of in ter stat e com merc e wit h the inten t to p romo te, ma nage, est ab-
lish, carry on, or facilitate the promotion, management, establish-
ment or carrying on, of any unlawful activit y.”
Most importantly, the Travel Act de nes “unlawful activities”
as including “bribery in violation of the laws of the State in which

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