Annotation

The issue of combating corruption has gained particular importance in the context of increased international trade. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 was the first legal instrument in the world aimed at preventing the bribery of foreign public officials by American companies outside the United States. Since 1998, its scope has expanded to include all companies whose securities are traded on U.S. stock exchanges. The provisions of the FCPA laid the foundation for modern international anti-corruption standards, including the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention of 1997. Over the past two decades, there has been a marked intensification in the enforcement of the FCPA, including against foreign legal entities and individuals. This raises critical questions about the limits of the extraterritorial application of U.S. law, U.S. jurisdiction, and the balance between national sovereignty and global anti-corruption efforts. In light of current geopolitical challenges, economic competition, and cross-border investigations, the study of the formation and evolution of this legislation is of both theoretical and practical relevance. Despite the increasing significance of the FCPA in international legal practice, this topic has remained virtually unexplored in Russian legal historiography. The present study fills this gap by offering a systematic analysis of the development of the law’s extraterritorial reach in its historical context.