![Most states received mediocre to failing grades for laws and practices that deter corruption, according to a study by the Center for Public Integrity. [REUTERS graphic]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m15bo2K25f1qmaoalo1_1280.jpg)
Most states received mediocre to failing grades for laws and practices that deter corruption, according to a study by the Center for Public Integrity. [REUTERS graphic]
U.S. authorities are stepping up investigations, including an FBI criminal inquiry, into possible violations by employees of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire of a U.S. law banning corrupt payments to foreign officials such as police, law enforcement and corporate sources said.
The U.S. official said that if any law enforcement action was pursued by U.S. authorities against Murdoch employees, it would most likely relate to FCPA.
If it is found to have violated the FCPA, Murdoch’s News Corp, which has its headquarters in New York, could be fined up to $2 million and barred from U.S. government contracts, and individuals who participated in the bribery could face fines of up to $100,000 and a jail sentence of five years.
Read more: U.S. authorities looking into Murdoch foreign payments
EXCLUSIVE: HSBC Holdings PLC is under investigation by a U.S. Senate panel in a money-laundering inquiry, the latest step in a long-running U.S. effort to halt shadowy money flows through global banks, according to people familiar with the situation and a company securities filing.
The intensifying scrutiny of HSBC is the latest in a series of investigations by U.S. officials into how global banks have processed — and in some cases, intentionally hidden — financial transactions on behalf of countries which allegedly support terrorism, corrupt foreign officials, drug gangs and criminals.
