미국 해외부패방지법의 동향과 그 시사점 -반부패행위를 중심으로- (The Trend and Implication of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) -Focusing on Anti-Bribery Provisions-)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 연세대학교 법학연구원
· 수록지 정보 : 법학연구 / 22권 / 2호 / 47 ~ 70페이지
· 저자명 : 임정호

초록

한미자유무역협정의 체결과 비준으로 한국 내 기업의 미국에서의 활동이 전에 비해 더욱 활발해질 것이라는 예상이 나오고 있다. 1977년에 제정되어 1998년의 개정을 거친 미국의 FCPA는 미국 내 기업뿐만 아니라 외국의 기업에 대해서도 직접적 영향을 줄 수 있는 법률이다. 특히 최근 들어 그 적용이 더욱 강력히 행해지고 있어 우리 기업의 이에 대한 인식과 주의가 요구된다.
FCPA는 기본적으로 1. 미국 내 상장 및 등록된 기업, 그리고 기타 미국의 기업 및 미국 시민, 그리고 미국 내 체류 중인 자라면 누구든지 2. 외국의 공무원 등을 상대로 3. 거래의 획득 및 유지 등을 목적으로 증뢰행위를 하는 것을 4. 처벌하는 것이다. 물론 이에 대하여는 동법이 직접 규정하고 있는 몇 가지의 적용제외 사유들이 존재한다.
본 연구는 FCPA의 적용주체와 객체, 금지행위, 금지행위에 수반되는 목적, 처벌, 그리고 적용제외 사유들을 검토한다. 특히 동법이 금지하는 증뢰행위가 성립하기 위하여 거래의 획득 혹은 유지의 목적이 수반되어야 한다. 이는 매우 추상적인 개념이므로 사안에 따라 달리 판단할 수밖에 없을 것이다.
향후 미연방법무부와 증권거래위원회 등 미국 사법당국에 의한 FCPA의 한국기업 혹은 미국 내 한국기업의 자회사 등에 대한 적극적 적용에 대비하여 기업 내 내부통제시스템의 구축은 물론 FCPA 위반가능성이 있는 거래에 대한 주의가 필요하다.

영어초록

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, 15 U.S.C. §§78dd-1, et seq. (“FCPA”), was enacted for the purpose of making it unlawful for certain classes of persons and entities to make payments to foreign government officials to assist in obtaining or retaining business. The past several years have seen a dramatic increase in the enforcement of the FCPA.
The FCPA serves to combat bribery of foreign officials. The Act is incorporated into provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The FCPA has two main provisions: the anti-bribery provisions; and the books and records and internal control provisions. The anti-bribery provisions are organized according to the category of entity or person covered by the FCPA. The crux of the FCPA provides for the prosecution of those who bribe foreign officials.
The anti-bribery provisions apply to “issuers,” “domestic concerns,” and “persons” other than “issuers or “domestic concerns.” A “person” other than an “issuer” or “domestic concern” can generally include foreign non-issuer companies and foreign nationals. The anti-bribery provisions will apply to such a “person” while he/she is in the territory of the U.S.
As a general matter, the anti-bribery provisions prohibit the corrupt payment of money or “anything of value” to a “foreign official” in order to “obtain or retain business.”Moreover, whether one can be subject to FCPA liability for the actions of a third-party based on “knowledge” of the third-party’s conduct is a highly fact-dependent analysis.
“Obtain or retain business” includes payments to a “foreign official” to secure a foreign government contract. However, the meaning of “obtain or retain business” is very uncertain. Given the Kay holding by the Fifth Circuit, it is a highly fact-dependent question whether a payment to a “foreign official” satisfies the “obtain or retain business” element outside the context of a specific foreign government contract.
Furthermore, the anti-bribery provisions also contain one exception and two affirmative defenses. First, the anti-bribery provisions “shall not apply to any facilitating or expediting payment to a foreign official...the purpose of which is to expedite or to secure the performance of a routine government action by a foreign official”. Second, the anti-bribery provisions contain two affirmative defenses. The first is for the payment of “anything of value” “l awful under the written laws and regulations” of the foreign official’s country. However, it is impossible to find such written laws. The second is if the payment of “anything of value” “was a reasonable and bona fide expenditure, such as travel and lodging expenses, incurred by or on behalf of a foreign official...and was directly related to (A) the promotion, demonstration, or explanation of products or services; or (B) the execution or performance of a contract with a foreign government or agency thereof.”Under the FCPA, significant fines have been levied against U.S. corporations in anti-bribery provision related cases. Moreover, they are also levied against non-U.S. corporations that have agency relations with U.S. corporations.
As the FTA between South Korea and the U.S. is in effect, South Korean companies are advised to review their compliance and training programs to ensure that those programs meet the standards articulated in many cases related to the FCPA. While it is almost impossible to instruct every single employee or agent, South Korean companies can take some small comfort in instituting and self-enforcing FCPA compliance and training programs.

참고자료

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