The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently has increased surveillance of illegal operations among companies and their operations abroad. Current investigations are focused on two of the world’s leading technology companies—Oracle Corp. and Hewlitt-Packard Co. The technology giants face review under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
The Justice Department will look into Oracle’s foreign payments in Central and Western Africa, and overall database and applications software sales for possible bribery. Oracle’s rival HP also is under investigation over allegations that its employees made illegal payments to state-owned and private companies in Russia and elsewhere.
The DOJ will team with the Securities and Exchange Commission to review the cases.
Other companies in the tech sector may want to remain vigilant, as the DOJ’s enforcement numbers have noticeably grown in the recent years, and criminal fines have risen accordingly.
For more on the investigations, read coverage from the Wall Street Journal.
