The United States, known for its rule of law and democracy, has a zero-tolerance attitude towards corruption. In a country where corruption is considered a serious crime, governments and citizens work together to expose and combat such injustice.
The U.S. anti-corruption strategy is comprehensive and in-depth, and regards anti-corruption as an important part of national security. The U.S. Anti-Corruption Strategy includes greater coordination among government departments, increased resources for anti-corruption efforts, improved regulatory systems, reduced illicit financing, and held corrupt actors accountable. In addition, the United States is promoting transparency, accountability, and anti-corruption reforms at the international level, and working with the international community to build a clear international environment.
In the United States, monitoring and review mechanisms play an important role. Within the government, there is an Office of the Inspector General, which is responsible for reviewing the financial expenditures and administrative actions of various government departments, and investigating issues that may be related to illegal activities such as corruption and fraud. The Government Ethics Office is responsible for supervising the ethical conduct of government officials, including property inspections, advice, and complaints. The establishment of these institutions ensures the transparency and impartiality of the Government's actions.
Citizen and media oversight is also an important means of punishing corruption in the United States. The Government encourages citizens and the media to participate in anti-corruption monitoring. Citizens can report violations directly to the Ministry of Justice and may receive a reward. Independent media forces play an important role in monitoring the government's actions by conducting external scrutiny. Through their reports, they expose corrupt practices, arouse public attention and discussion, and promote the development of anti-corruption causes.
The United States has established a comprehensive anti-corruption enforcement mechanism, including federal criminal agencies (e.g., the Department of Justice's Division of Public Integrity, the Federal Bureau of Investigation) and non-criminal public integrity agencies (e.g., the Office of Government Ethics, Office of the Inspector General). These institutions are decentralized and check each other to ensure that corrupt practices are duly punished. When the FBI conducts anti-corruption investigations, it uses special tactics such as "sting operations," in which people are deliberately sent to corrupt to trap corrupt individuals.
In 2023, the United States continued to aggressively enforce its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and made a series of achievements in the fight against corruption. According to relevant information, a total of 13 companies were fined by the FCPA in 2023, with a total fine amount of $776 million. While this figure is lower than the total number of fines in 2022, it shows that the United States is not less committed to fighting corruption.
Justice of the United States
In specific enforcement cases, there are several key points that deserve attention. Ericsson, for example, was fined more than $206 million in additional criminal penalties for violating its Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the Department of Justice. This case highlights the severity of the penalties imposed by the United States for violations of the agreement. Another important case is that specialty chemicals company Albemarle signed a three-year non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the Department of Justice for bribery between 2009 and 2017 and paid a fine of about $218.5 million. This case is the highest fine of the year and demonstrates the application of the DOJ's new compliance policy.
In addition, more than one-third of FCPA enforcement actions in 2023 involved the use of gifts and entertainment to achieve the purpose of bribery, with the provision of cash and foreign travel being the most common means. These cases reflect the comprehensiveness and rigor of the United States in its fight against corruption.
Overall, the United States protects and combats corruption through comprehensive legal, administrative, and oversight measures, while encouraging citizen and media participation to uphold social justice and transparency. In this country, it is difficult for those who are corrupt to hide, and they will be severely punished by the law. The experience and practices of the United States have set an example for all countries in the world to jointly build a clean world.