Mike and Brent welcome author and compliance professional Severin Wirz to the pod to discuss his first book, Bribery Beyond Borders: The Story of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. They discuss with Severin his inspiration for writing the book (02:44), the book’s focus on the people and personalities involved in the events between 1975 and the 1977 passage of the FCPA (05:50), the political and geopolitical scandals that kept up the momentum for a law banning overseas bribery (06:59), what his research uncovered beyond the traditional FCPA origin story (10:49), the relevance of the Cold War to the FCPA’s passage—specifically how corruption by capitalists fed into Communist propaganda (12:39), how the political “sausage” was made (16:33), stories of personal courage and risk-taking that made the FCPA possible (18:27), the use of the phrase “post-Watergate morality” as a critique of the FCPA and other reform efforts (21:48), how anti-corruption laws actually help American companies competing for business overseas (29:21), where the FCPA stands today (31:17), and how corruption is a social construct that, to paraphrase former federal appellate judge and author himself John Noonan, to exist as a legal concept must first exist in the minds of everyday people (35:40).

Mike and Brent then conclude with another installment of Brent Carlson’s “Managing Up” (38:14).

Bribery Beyond Borders: The Story of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act—

Learn more at Corporate Compliance Insights here: https://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/bribery-beyond-borders-fcpa-severin-wirz/

Available at Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Bribery-Beyond-Borders-Foreign-Practices/dp/1735028592

More about Severin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/severin-wirz-3574b574/

Contact Brent: brent@redflagsrising.com

Contact Mike: michael.huneke@morganlewis.com