Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement reimagined: What businesses in the Middle East need to know

The DOJ will prioritise bribery cases involving organised crime networks, money laundering operations and foreign officials linked to criminal enterprises.
For businesses in the Middle East, this highlights the importance of conducting rigorous due diligence on third parties, such as agents, customs facilitators, logistics firms, consultants and brokers, to identify any links to illicit financial flows or high-risk affiliations. Particular attention should be paid to shell companies, offshore service providers and trading firms that operate with limited transparency or operate as financial intermediaries without a clear commercial rationale. 

The DOJ will prioritise cases where misconduct denies US companies’ fair access to compete or causes them direct economic harm. Regional firms involved in public tenders, joint ventures or partnerships with state-owned entities (SOE) must ensure transparency and fairness in their business practices. As emphasised by Matthew Galeotti, Head of the DOJ’s criminal division, where misconduct does not implicate US interests, enforcement responsibility should rest with foreign authorities. In such cases, the DOJ will offer support but defer primary action to appropriate regulators. ⁶

In the Middle East, where large-scale infrastructure and giga-projects often involve foreign bidders, most of which are likely to include US interests, regional companies must ensure transparent and fair procurement processes. Misconduct in these sectors that affects US economic interests will remain squarely within DOJ’s crosshairs. 

Cases involving bribery in strategic sectors such as energy, infrastructure, defence and critical minerals will receive heightened attention, especially where improper foreign influence may compromise U.S. interests. Firms in the Middle East operating in these sectors, particularly those engaged in government contracts or SOEs, should expect heightened scrutiny. As Gulf economies expand their influence across global supply chains and sovereign wealth funds take on larger roles, misconduct in these sectors that affects US economic or national security interests will continue to be a key focus of DOJ enforcement efforts.

The DOJ will deprioritise minor or customary business practices, such as small facilitation payments or customary hospitality. Instead, enforcement will focus on:

• Substantial bribes

• Clear corrupt intent

• Sophisticated concealment efforts 

• Fraud used to advance bribery schemes

• Obstruction of justice

Companies with global operations in the region must continue to comply with local and international standards, including the Saudi Anti-Bribery Law, UK Bribery Act and emerging multilateral initiatives such as the International Anti-Corruption Prosecutorial Taskforce launched by the UK, France and Switzerland to strengthen cross-border enforcement.

Reevaluate relationships in high-risk markets and with Politically Exposed Person (PEP), SOE and foreign officials, in line with DOJ’s emphasis on national interest and high-impact misconduct. Given the central role of intermediaries in Middle East business, companies must also implement robust, risk-based due diligence across the third-party lifecycle, including vetting, onboarding and continuous monitoring, not only to manage traditional compliance risks, but also to identify conduct that could trigger DOJ scrutiny by implicating US interests.

Recent DOJ guidelines make clear that companies which voluntarily self-report misconduct, fully cooperate with investigations and appropriately remediate will now receive a formal declination, rather than merely a presumption as was the case under previous policies. Failure to self-report, particularly in sectors of US interest, can trigger enforcement actions, even if the company later cooperates.

To avoid becoming a DOJ target, companies must have more than policies on paper. A strong, risk-based compliance programme that is active, embedded and auditable is essential. It must be backed by leadership and integrated into day-to-day operations. Critically, companies should be prepared to demonstrate the effectiveness of their programme in real time. This is particularly important when seeking a declination, where the DOJ evaluates not just whether a program exists, but whether it actually works. Key elements include:

• Tailored controls for high-risk sectors and State-Owned Enterprise interactions

• Ongoing due diligence on third parties and Politically Exposed Person

• Real-world training and a speak-up culture 

• Trusted and functioning whistleblower channels

• Analytic tools that integrate the disparate aspects of FCPA compliance and readily demonstrate the thoroughness and effectiveness of a company’s compliance programme