United States

The U.S. NAP includes a substantial amount of information on this issue, focused largely on corruption and transparency.

Outcome 1.1: Promoting RBC Globally

New Actions [page 8]

“Corruption Consortium: An important deliverable from the International Anti-Corruption Summit held in the United Kingdom in May 2016, State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will launch the Global Anti-Corruption Consortium (GACC), a new initiative to support international efforts to expose corruption, raise public awareness, and facilitate action by government, law enforcement, and multilateral organizations. GACC will expand the quality and scope of civil society investigations and reporting by mentoring investigative journalists and facilitating collaboration among anticorruption civil society actors. The initiative will improve civil society’s ability to pursue action by government and international bodies to combat corruption.” – Implementing Department or Agency: State, USAID

Ongoing Commitments and Initiatives [page 8]

“Inter-American Convention Against Corruption: The United States will continue to actively support implementation of the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, including through active participation in the country review process” – Implementing Department or Agency: DOJ, State, Treasury, Commerce

“Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC): The U.S. government has played an important role in numerous APEC initiatives to combat corruption, including the recent APEC Principles on the Prevention of Bribery and Enforcement of Anti-Bribery Laws, as well as the APEC General Elements of Effective Voluntary Corporate Compliance Programs adopted by APEC Leaders in 2014. For example, in August the United States and Peru hosted an all-day APEC Workshop on anti-bribery corporate compliance programs and incentives, organized by the Peruvian High-Level Anticorruption Commission and the Department of Commerce. The U.S. government is also actively engaged in the Business Ethics for APEC Small and Medium Enterprise Initiative, the world’s largest collective action mechanism to strengthen ethical business practices in the medical device, biopharmaceutical, and construction and engineering sectors.” – Implementing Department or Agency: State, Commerce

Outcome 1.2: Utilize U.S. Law, Multilateral Agreements, and Diplomacy to Promote and Enforce High Standards

Ongoing Commitments and Initiatives [page 9-10]

“Free Trade Agreements: … All U.S. FTAs since 2004 also contain transparency and anti-corruption provisions, including requiring our trading partners to criminalize both domestic and foreign bribery. For instance, the TPP includes a historic transparency and anti-corruption chapter. The TPP Parties have also agreed to encourage companies to voluntarily adopt corporate social responsibility principles that the TPP parties have themselves supported or endorsed relating to labor and environment issues.” – Implementing Department or Agency: USTR, State, Commerce, DOL

 “Anti-Bribery and the OECD: The United States plays a leadership role in the Anti-Bribery Convention’s monitoring mechanism, conducted by the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions, which has been instrumental in increasing the number of countries enacting and enforcing foreign bribery laws. In the coming year, the U.S. government – led by State, the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Commerce, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – will continue to push for robust country reviews of Parties to the Antibribery Convention and examine obstacles to advancing the global efforts to address international bribery and corruption.” – Implementing Department or Agency: State, Commerce, DOJ, SEC

Outcome 1.2: Utilize U.S. Law, Multilateral Agreements, and Diplomacy to Promote and Enforce High Standards

Ongoing Commitments and Initiatives [page 10]

“International Anti-corruption and Good Governance Act (IAGGA): The U.S. government will continue its commitment to implement the IAGGA.” – Implementing Department or Agency: State, USAID, Commerce

“Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (as amended): Under this law’s implementing regulations, federal awardees currently report a variety of data on their first tier sub-awardees. The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) will continue to make this data available to the public on http://www.usaspending.gov/http://www.usaspending.gov/.” – Implementing Department or Agency: Trade

Collaborating With Stakeholders [page 13]

“Through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the United States is committed to promoting transparency in the extractives sector by playing an active role on the International EITI Board and Board committees. The U.S. commitment to EITI — both to promote it abroad and to implement it at home — sends a strong signal to our international partners that transparency is critical for countries at all levels of development, and in all regions.”

Outcome 2.1: Enhance the Value of Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives on RBC

New Action [page 14]

“Promoting Rights and Accountability through RBC: In May 2016, USAID launched a new Broad Agency Announcement calling for organizations and companies to collaborate in the development, piloting, testing, and scaling of innovative, practical, and cost-effective interventions to address human rights and anti-corruption in business activities globally. USAID seeks through this announcement to create more strategic, focused, and results-oriented approaches to generate solutions to rights abuses and corrupt practices in global commerce, and form partnerships to target risks and prevent violations. Under this umbrella announcement, USAID will continue its Supply Unchained initiative to better identify — and counter — human trafficking and other labor exploitation at its source.” – Implementing Department or Agency: USAID

Outcome 3.1: U.S. Government Reports

New Actions [page 17-18]

Country-Level Land Governance Profiles: USAID will develop and/or update 15 public country-level land governance profiles, which explain the land laws, land use patterns, gender concerns, land administration, and land markets within a given country. These profiles are an invaluable introduction for businesses that are looking to make land-based investments in a given country, and are conscientious about investing in an ethical and responsible manner. These profiles are also a critical resource for Embassy staff and others who counsel foreign businesses on potential investments.” – Implementing Department or Agency: USAID

Ongoing Commitments and Initiatives [page 18]

“Investment Climate Statements: State has and will continue to increase the focus on RBC in its annual country reports on investment climates. These reports, which have long covered all aspects of global investment climates, now include descriptions of labor rights and corporate responsibility practices.” – Implementing Department or Agency: State

“Country Commercial Guides: Commerce will continue to include an anti-corruption section in U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service Country Commercial Guides.” – Implementing Department or Agency: State, DOJ, SEC, Commerce

 “Anti-Corruption Publications: U.S. government agencies will continue to provide information to companies through a number of U.S. and international publications designed to assist firms in complying with anti-corruption laws, including The FCPA Resource Guide.” – Implementing Department or Agency: State

“Responsible Investment in Burma: In 2012, the U.S. government issued the Reporting Requirements for Responsible Investment in Burma, which required U.S. persons undertaking new investment in Burma to report on certain policies related to responsible and transparent business practices. On October 7, 2016, the President signed Executive Order 13742, which terminated the sanctions program with regard to Burma and made compliance with the reporting requirements voluntary. State will continue to host the voluntary reports on the Doing Business in Burma website and use the information collected as a basis for informed consultations with U.S. businesses to encourage and assist them to develop responsible business practices in Burma. State is also working closely with the Government of Burma as it develops and implements standards for responsible business practices.” – Implementing Department or Agency: State, Treasury

Outcome 3.2: Build U.S. Government Officials’ Capacity to Support RBC

New Actions [page 19]

“RBC Training for U.S. Embassies: … U.S. embassies are already engaged in promoting and recognizing RBC via their participation in the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) process.” – Implementing Department or Agency: State

 Ongoing Commitments and Initiatives [page 19]

“FCPA Training: State and Commerce will continue to provide FCPA and related anticorruption training to Commerce’s U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service officers and State Foreign Service officers so that they may raise awareness about corruption and compliance programs and assist U.S. companies as appropriate when confronted with corruption overseas.” – Implementing Department or Agency: State, Commerce, DOJ, SEC

Outcome 3.3: Capacity Building and Technical Support to Promote Enabling Environments

Ongoing Commitments and Initiatives [page 20]

“Engagement with Companies on Anti-Corruption Issues: DOJ, SEC, Commerce, State and other U.S. government agencies conduct outreach to the business community and will continue to coordinate with the private sector on anti-corruption issues. To this end, DOJ will continue to provide businesses, through its FCPA opinion release procedures, the opportunity to seek an opinion as to whether certain prospective, non-hypothetical conduct conforms with DOJ’s enforcement policy. Commerce and State, including through Foreign Commercial Service officers and State Foreign Service officers, will continue to raise awareness about corruption and the importance of effective compliance programs, and assist U.S. companies as appropriate when confronted with corruption overseas. High-level Commerce officials also meet with business leaders around the world and advocate with government officials on rule of law and anti-corruption issues, and the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) meets regularly with U.S. businesses to better understand their concerns about, and provide programming in priority countries on, the legal and regulatory reforms needed to reduce corruption and level the playing field in developing countries for U.S. companies.” – Implementing Department or Agency: DOJ, SEC, State, Commerce

Outcome 4.1: Recognize RBC Best Practices

New Actions [page 22]

“Promoting Human Rights in the ICT Sector: … State, working with other agencies and stakeholders, will develop a regular mechanism to identify, document, and publicize lessons learned and best practices related to corporate actions that promote and protect human rights online. …” – Implementing Department or Agency: State

“Modernize the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE): For 17 years the ACE has recognized the best of U.S. business conduct abroad. Until recently, the ACE focused principally on corporate philanthropy rather than a company’s efforts to ensure that its core business is conducted responsibly. In 2015, the ACE was given out in distinct categories for the first time, designed to align with RBC international best practices. Partly as a result of these updates, the ACE ceremony received unprecedented global participation, with a 470 percent increase in Twitter activity, articles in Voice of America and the Huffington Post, and a 100 percent increase in ceremony viewership online. For 2016, the ACE will continue its focus on highlighting RBC best practices, and will be awarded for transparent operations, inclusive hiring, sustainable oceans management, and small or medium enterprises.” – Implementing Department or Agency: State

 Annex II: Key Domestic Executive Orders and Regulatory Efforts [page 26-29]

“… The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA): In general, the FCPA prohibits certain classes of entities and individuals, including U.S. companies and citizens and companies publicly traded on a U.S. securities exchange, from offering to pay, paying, promising to pay, or authorizing payments to foreign officials to influence their acts or decisions or to secure other improper advantages.

”No Safe Haven” Initiative: The “No Safe Haven” initiative aims to deny entry into the United States and U.S. citizenship to the corrupt, to bribe payers, to those who benefit from corruption, those who commit certain human rights violations, and to human rights abusers and war criminals. The initiative is complemented by Presidential Proclamation 7750, which suspends the entry, in part, of public officials who accept bribes and the individuals who provide them, along with immediate family members of public officials who benefit from the corruption.

Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative: DOJ uses legal tools to trace and recover the proceeds of foreign corruption in the United States. A team of prosecutors works with federal law enforcement agencies to track the proceeds of foreign corruption, prosecute those who launder the proceeds of corruption, and put forfeited assets to use for the benefit of the people of the country victimized by such abuses of public trust. The Initiative ensures that corrupt foreign leaders cannot seek to launder or spend their stolen wealth in the United States. DOJ also participates in various international fora on asset recovery and, along with the Departments of Treasury and State, pushes to strengthen the global implementation of the international anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards through the FATF. In addition to the Kleptocracy Initiative established in 2010, DOJ has five other anti-corruption programs. DOJ focuses on investigating and prosecuting domestic public integrity offenders, bribe payers, taxpayers who seek to conceal foreign accounts, and money launderers who facilitate the movement, use, and concealment of corrupt funds, and DOJ continues to provide legal assistance to its foreign partners to fight corruption and ensure it is not a profitable enterprise.

Money Laundering and Bank Integrity: Treasury administers the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), which, among other things, requires financial institutions to maintain effective anti-money laundering (AML) compliance programs. Effective AML programs include, among other things, the ability to detect and report suspicious activity, including corruption, and to conduct due diligence and enhanced measures when banks, broker-dealers, or other institutions deal with senior foreign political figures. DOJ prosecutes criminal violations of the BSA focusing on criminal violations by financial institutions whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system, as well as professional money launderers and gatekeepers. These unique cases reinforce the obligation on U.S. businesses in the financial sector to harden their infrastructure against financial crime—including bribery, misappropriation, and theft—and reinforce the private sector’s role as a strong line of defense against the introduction of ill-gotten gains to the U.S. financial system. …

 “Transparency: The U.S. government is engaging in efforts to strengthen financial and corporate transparency to make our country even less attractive for the corrupt looking to spend the proceeds of their crimes. To that end, DOJ has submitted to Congress a package of legislative proposals that will improve the United States’ ability to combat money laundering, particularly when linked to foreign official corruption, and to locate and recover stolen assets and other criminal proceeds. Additionally, Treasury recently announced a final rule to increase transparency in the financial system. The final Customer Due Diligence rule, which was first noticed in 2014 and was subject to a public comment process, will require that financial institutions—including banks and other entities—collect and verify the personal information of the real people (also known as beneficial owners) who own, control, and profit from companies when those companies open accounts. It clarifies and expands BSA obligations and will be fully implemented by financial institutions no later than two years after its effective date (i.e. May 11, 2018). Finally, Treasury, on behalf of the Administration, sent to Congress draft legislation that would require companies formed within the United States to file adequate, accurate, and current information on its beneficial owners with Treasury. The proposed legislation includes penalties for failure to comply and is necessary to prevent the misuse of companies formed under state law. To address potential vulnerabilities in the domestic real estate market, Treasury uses its authorities to require certain title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used to pay “all cash” for high-end real estate in six major metropolitan areas.”