Middle East Response to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

See for example “Disclosures of Payments to Foreign Government Officials Under the Securities Act,” Harvard Law Review, 89 (June 1976): 1848; Basche James R. , Unusual Foreign Payments: A Survey of the Policies and Practices of US Companies (New York, NY: The Conference Board, 1976), p. 5; and Jacoby Neil Nehemkis Peter Eells Richard , Bribery and Extortion in World Business (New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1977), pp. 7–10.

Wall Street Journal, April 28, 1976, p. 4.

Sweeney John , “The SEC Interpretive and Enforcement Program Under the FCPA,” Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce, 9/2 (Fall 1983): 90; and SEC v. Page Airways Inc., [1978 Transfer Binder] Fed. Sec. L. Rep. (CCH) 96, 393, at 93, 389 (D.D.C. April 12, 1978).

Middle East Economic Digest, April 13, 1979, pp. 38–39.

Graham John L. , “Foreign Corruption Practices Act: A Manager's Guide,” Columbia Journal of World Business, 18/3 (Fall 1983): 90.

Nye Joseph S. , “Corruption and Development: A Cost-Benefit Analysis,” American Political Science Review, 61 (June 1967): 419.

Shine Richard , “Enforcement of the FCPA by the Department of Justice,” Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce, 9:2 (Fall 1982): 292–293.

The findings presented in this article are based on a survey of government cleanups and scandals involving corruption of both foreign and local origin in 26 North African and Middle Eastern states from 1970 through 1985. Sources for the compilation of the sample include the Middle East Economic Digest, the Middle East Journal chronology, the African Research Political Series, Social Science Index, and the Wall Street Journal Index.

Middle East Economic Digest, September 8, 1978, p. 41.

Middle East Economic Digest, September 8, 1978, p. 30 and April 27, 1979, p. 38.

Wall Street Journal, December 30, 1976, p. 18.

Sobel Lester A. , ed., Corruption in Business (New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc., 1977), p. 107.

Ibid., p. 118.

Wall Street Journal, May 3, 1976, p. 12.

Wall Street Journal, December 30, 1976, p. 18.

Middle East Economic Digest, January 21, 1977, p. 32.

Wall Street Journal, September 21, 1979, p. 29.

Sobel , Corruption in Business, p. 141.

Middle East Economic Digest, February 20, 1976, p. 11.

Middle East Economic Digest, January 21, 1977, p. 18.

Wall Street Journal, November 24, 1978, p. 7.

Middle East Economic Digest, June 1, 1984, p. 8

Heikal Mohammed , Autumn of Fury (New York, NY: Random House, 1983), p. 184.

Wall Street Journal, November 16, 1978, p. 41.

Egypt and the United States signed an agreement to share information relating to investigations regarding Westinghouse on November 29, 1978. In a letter dated December 21, 1978, the Minister of Justice of Egypt requested that the agreement be extended to cover the Boeing Corporation. The U.S. Department of Justice complied. See Agreement on Procedures for Mutual Assistance, November 29, 1978, United States-Egypt, 30 U.S.T. 3996, T.I.A.S. No. 9441; and Agreement Effected by Exchange of Notes, December 21, 1978–January 3, 1979, United States-Egypt, 30 U.S.T. 4005, T.I.A.S. No. 9442.

Middle East Economic Digest, October 31, 1975, p. 13.

Wall Street Journal, February 24, 1976, p. 4.

Wall Street Journal, December 12, 1975, p. 40.

Wall Street Journal, February 11, 1976, p. 40.

Wall Street Journal, March 31, 1976, p. 3.

Wall Street Journal, December 7, 1976, p. 6. The allegations were later supported by Grumman company memos released by the SEC and Justice Department (Wall Street Journal, November 28, 1978, p. 48.) In the meantime, Grumman settled with the Iranian government, agreeing to supply the Iranian air force with space parts and equipment totalling $24 million.

Wall Street Journal, February 2, 1977, p. 10.

Middle East Economic Digest, August 19, 1977, p. 23.

Wall Street Journal, January 25, 1978, p. 3.

Middle East Economic Digest, July 7, 1978, p. 30.

Middle East Economic Digest, September 15, 1978, p. 27.

Middle East Economic Digest, September 29, 1978, p. 22.

Middle East Economic Digest, November 10, 1978, p. 18.

Middle East Economic Digest, May 16, 1975, p. 19.

Wall Street Journal, June 9, 1975, p. 5.

Middle East Economic Digest, September 12, 1975, p. 27.

Wall Street Journal, September 12, 1975, p. 9.

Middle East Economic Digest, September 26, 1975, p. 24.

Middle East Economic Digest, May 6, 1977, p. 29.

Middle East Economic Digest, May 26, 1978, p. 48.

Middle East Economic Digest, June 20, 1978, p. 28.

Middle East Economic Digest, February 22, 1980, p. 3.

Mohammed Habib and Middle East Services v. Raytheon Company and Raytheon Services Company. No. 79–1147. United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. 616 F. 2nd 1204 (1980), p. 1211.

Gillespie Kate Okruhlik Gwenn , “The Politics of Cleanups in the Middle East: 1970–1985,” Proceedings of the International Conference on Middle East Studies, SOAS, London, July 1986, p. 278.

See for example Kaikati Jack G. Label Wayne A. , “American Bribery Legislation: An Obstacle to International Marketing,” Journal of Marketing, 44 (Fall 1980): 38–43; and Kim Suk H. , “On Repealing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Survey and Assessment,” Columbia Journal of World Business, 16/3 (Fall 1981): 16–21.

Graham , “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” op. cit., p. 93.

“Marcos-Gate: The Scandal That's Shaking Tokyo,” Business Week, April 7, 1986, p. 49.

Chung In Moon , “Korean Contractors in Saudi Arabia: Their Rise and Fall,” Middle East Journal, 40/4 (Autumn 1986): 621.

Export market shares are a common indicator of competitive strength but do not perfectly reflect a nation's position in a market. Many U.S. multinational companies sourced Middle East markets from their European subsidiaries. Since these exports would be credited to Europe, the U.S. position in the Middle East vis-à-vis Europe is likely understated to a certain degree for all periods.

Middle East Economic Digest, October 26, 1979, p. 46.

Greanias George C. Windsor Duane , The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1982), p. 133; and Jacoby Neil H. Nehemkis Peter Eells Richard , “Naivete: Foreign Payoffs Law,” California Management Review, 22/1 (Fall 1979): 86.

Jacoby Nehemkis Eells , Bribery and Extortion in World Business, op. cit., p. 8.

Ibid., pp. 185–188.

Waterbury John , “Corruption, Political Stability and Development: Comparative Evidence from Egypt and Morocco,” Government and Opposition, 2 (Autumn 1976): 427–428.

Murphy Michael E. , “Payoffs to Foreign Officials: Time for More National Responsibility,” American Bar Association Journal, 62 (April 1976): 481.

Wall Street Journal, January 16, 1980, p. 46.

Wraith Ronald Simpkins Edgar , Corruption and Developing Countries (New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, 1963), p. 208.

Spynest Documents: America's Good Contacts (1982–1983?), Muslim Student Followers of the Iman's Line, Tehran, 89 pages U.S. Embassy Documents, 142 pages Persian translation, p. 208.

Waterbury John , “Endemic and Planned Corruption in a Monarchal Regime,” World Politics, 25/4: 541.

For a further discussion of this phenomenon, see Gillespie Okruhlik , “The Politics of Cleanups in the Middle East,” op. cit., pp. 271–280.

This executive is quoted in Basche James Jr. , Unusual Foreign Payments (New York, NY: The Conference Board, Inc.), p. 28.