Rivers State University Journal of Public Law

Abstract
Corruption is a global problem. Its impact is made more manifest with the advancement in the use of
technology. The implication is that the scourge can be easily exported from one country to another if
decisive actions are not taken to curb it. The United States is unarguably the commercial capital of the
world. US businesses have tremendous influence throughout the globe. To ensure that American
businesses are not vehicles for the spread of corruption involving foreign public officials but rather to
safeguard their reputations and maintain public confidence, probity and integrity in the global business
ecosystem, Congress enacted the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). The scope of the Act is wide
with global reach – to the extent that foreign persons or companies could be held liable for violating
the Act. “Agents” of US businesses in foreign countries like Nigeria or Nigerian businesses registered
with the US Securities and Exchange Commissions (“SEC”) involved in corrupt practices outside the
US could be held liable under the Act. Equally, US Principals may be held vicariously liable for the
conduct of their Nigerian agents. This paper explores, briefly, the application of the FCPA and what it
takes for a foreign person or company to be adjudged an agent. As a result, US businesses are advised
on the steps to take before appointing a Nigerian agent and what a prospective agent in Nigeria must
know to avoid exposing itself and its US principal in dealing with Nigerian public officials to escape the
hammers of the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and/or SEC and save Nigerian officials from bad
press and possible prosecution in Nigeria.

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