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

Nearly half a century after its passage, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act stands at a crossroads with its moral authority questioned and its global influence uncertain. Bribery Beyond Borders tells the remarkable true story of how the United States became the first nation to criminalize corporate bribery outside its boundaries. Drawing on more than a decade of archival research and detailed interviews with the journalists, lawmakers, and whistleblowers who made history, Severin Wirz plumbs the depths of the world’s first global anticorruption law. Amid the ongoing reshaping of the FCPA and with America’s own commitment to integrity under strain both at home and abroad, this thorough narrative reminds readers how an improbable coalition of idealists once turned scandal into statute—and how their vision still animates the global fight against corruption today.

Severin Wirz is an attorney specializing in U.S. and international anti-corruption law. His career spans grassroots advocacy and high stakes investigations-from advancing collective action initiatives with nonprofit organizations in East Africa to guiding Fortune 100 companies through complex cross-border enforcement matters. He currently serves as Director of Ethics & Compliance at Applied Materials, a leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer based in Silicon Valley. Previously, he was Senior Director of Anti-Corruption Compliance at TIAA, where he led global anti-bribery efforts across the financial services enterprise. Severin is a frequent contributor to the field, with published articles on anti-corruption compliance and editorial roles in key reference works, including Practicing Under the U.S. Anti-Corruption Laws and the series How to Pay a Bribe: Thinking Like a Criminal to Thwart Bribery Schemes.