A more thorough explanation:

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is a law in the United States that makes it illegal for U.S. citizens and employees of U.S. listed companies to bribe foreign officials. The FCPA has two main provisions: one that prohibits the bribery of foreign officials and another that requires new accounting transparency requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Breaking either provision can result in heavy fines, and corrupt acts can lead to criminal charges.

The FCPA broadly prohibits the bribery of foreign officials by U.S. citizens and companies. This provision covers any act that gives anything of value to influence the actions of foreign officials, political parties, candidates, or people who will give resources to such officials. There are exceptions for facilitating payments to officials, such as for obtaining a business license. However, this part of the FCPA is controversial because it can apply to people outside of the U.S. who do not have connections with U.S. companies.

For example, if an executive of a company based in France directs their company to make a payment to an official in Columbia to ensure the company receives a lucrative government contract, the executive could be charged under the FCPA if this payment goes through a correspondent bank in the U.S., even though the company's bank is in France. These types of situations frequently occur and fall under the banking system of the U.S., which can be used to expand the application of the FCPA to foreign entities and individuals.

The FCPA also contains a mandatory accounting provision that aims to prevent bribery by U.S. listed firms by limiting the ability for corrupt transactions to remain hidden. This provision requires regularly compiled bookkeeping, internal controls, and compliance mechanisms that can prevent resources from being used corruptly.