The business case against overseas corruption has never been stronger, as regulators around the world work together to prosecute companies that bribe abroad.

Enforcement trends show that firms breaking foreign bribery laws are today more likely to be prosecuted than ever before. Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International says there was “significant enforcement” of the 1997 OECD anti-bribery convention in 16 countries in 2007, up from 14 in 2006. Governments from 37 countries have signed the convention and passed laws that criminalise bribery of foreign public officials.

So far US regulators have led efforts to crack down on overseas corruption, imposing record fines on companies and giving jail terms to individuals that bribe abroad. Now European countries including Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland are starting to follow suit. “US regulators used to be the only policeman on the block,” says Lee Dunst, a partner at New York law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a specialist on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. “This has changed in the last 10 years,” he says, referring to European law enforcers starting to put resources into fighting overseas corruption.

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