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Executive Summary
The 2025 FCPA Year in Review was the first session in Ethixbase360's new TPRM Expert Series, a program of expert-led webinars and briefings designed to deliver practical insight between editions of the Third-Party Risk Management Summit. The opening session was joined by Chuck Duross, co-head of Morrison Foerster's FCPA and Global Anti-Corruption practice and former Chief of the U.S. DOJ's FCPA Unit, who offered a candid assessment of how FCPA enforcement shifted over the past year and what compliance leaders should focus on now.
2025 was one of the more unusual years in the history of FCPA enforcement. While headlines centered on an unprecedented enforcement “pause,” the takeaway from the discussion was clear: the law has not changed, and the risks have not gone away.
Key Statistics
Top Five Takeaways from the Webinar
The Enforcement Pause Was Short—But Its Effects Were Lasting
The DOJ's 180-day enforcement pause was unprecedented — and, as Chuck noted, it ended sooner than many expected. While some assumed it would run its full course or be extended, it was brought to an early close following internal DOJ review and policy clarification, with timing that coincided with the June meeting of the OECD Working Group on Bribery.
Even so, the impact was significant: a review and closure of older cases, a reduction in prosecutors, and a reset of priorities.
Corporate Cases Declined, But Individuals Continue to Be Prosecuted
Only three corporate FCPA cases were brought in 2025 — a sharp decline from prior years. But enforcement against individuals did not slow. Chuck pointed to multiple convictions and long prison sentences, including an eight-year sentence in a bribery case involving Honduras. As he emphasized:
“a criminal statute, and people go to prison for violating it.”
Third Parties Continue to Be the Biggest Source of Risk
Third parties remain the most consistent source of FCPA exposure. As Chuck noted:
“90 to 95 percent of bribery cases involve intermediaries,”
— a pattern that continued across the 2025 cases. He stressed that a one-time review is not enough. Companies should take a lifecycle approach, with due diligence at onboarding, clear contractual expectations, payment controls, and ongoing monitoring of third parties. As Chuck put it, third parties are often:
“the easiest and most efficient way to move money,”
which is why they remain central to enforcement actions.
High-Risk Regions and Cartel Exposure Warrant Closer Review
With new DOJ guidance encouraging prosecutors to look for cartel or transnational criminal organization links, companies operating in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela should reassess their risk exposure.
Chuck cautioned that this risk may surface through vendors — such as security, fuel, transport, or facilities providers — that are often overlooked, not only through government-facing third parties.
Enforcement Continues Outside the U.S.
More than 40 countries now have foreign bribery laws under the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, and many actively enforce them. As Chuck noted, this is no longer just a U.S. issue. Regulators in other countries continue to pursue cases and work together, meaning issues can surface through non-U.S. authorities even when U.S. enforcement appears quieter.
Key Concepts
- FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act)
- A criminal statute under which individuals can and do go to prison; the law has not changed despite the 2025 enforcement pause, and the risks have not gone away.
- DOJ enforcement pause
- An unprecedented 180-day pause that ended early following internal DOJ review and policy clarification, leaving enforcement leaner, more selective, and more focused.
- Lifecycle approach to third-party risk
- Due diligence at onboarding, clear contractual expectations, payment controls, and ongoing monitoring of third parties, rather than a one-time review.
- Cartel and transnational criminal organization exposure
- A risk highlighted by new DOJ guidance encouraging prosecutors to look for such links; it may surface through often-overlooked vendors such as security, fuel, transport, or facilities providers.
- OECD Anti-Bribery Convention
- The framework under which more than 40 countries now have foreign bribery laws, many of which actively enforce them and work together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Key Takeaways & Actions
- ✓Take a lifecycle approach to third parties: due diligence at onboarding, clear contractual expectations, payment controls, and ongoing monitoring.
- ✓Reassess risk exposure in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela.
- ✓Look beyond government-facing third parties to often-overlooked vendors such as security, fuel, transport, and facilities providers.
- ✓Reinforce clear accountability and effective oversight for employees, executives, and intermediaries.
- ✓Don't assume slower U.S. activity reduces overall exposure — non-U.S. authorities continue to pursue cases and work together.
- ✓Don't read the enforcement pause as a change in the law: the law has not changed, and the risks have not gone away.
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Listen to the Recording
Hear a detailed breakdown of 2025 FCPA developments and cases.
LISTEN TO THE FULL WEBINAR RECORDING