This is deemed to be the case, inter alia, when the government or governments hold the majority of the enterprise's subscribed capital, control the majority of votes attaching to shares issued by the enterprise or can appoint a majority of the members of the enterprise's administrative or managerial body or supervisory board.The definition of a foreign official defined in the OECD agreement is now referenced in enforcement actions by the United States Department of Justice.
[3] According to the US Department of Justice, the term "foreign official" is defined as: any officer or employee of a foreign government or any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any such government or department, agency, or instrumentality, or for or on behalf of any such public international organization.The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act applies to US companies and foreign organisations or persons doing business within the borders of the United States.
The process of recognising if an entity is doing business with an individual who would be considered a foreign official is not only necessary from a compliance perspective, but also necessary when evaluating the risks in a company's business model.
This process can be very simple or may be quite complex depending on how many relationships an entity has in place.
The process of identifying foreign officials is typically carried out by the comparisons of client or third-party lists with lists of foreign officials that contain the names and positions of such officials, as well as unique identifiers such as dates of birth, photos, and contact numbers.