The Department of Justice has aggressively ramped up its use of deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) and non-prosecution agreements (NPAs).

According to a recent detailed report issued by law firm Gibson Dunn, in 2010 there were 32 DPAs and NPAs. This compares with 21 in 2009 and just 19 in 2008. In 2000, there was only one publicly reported DPA.

The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index—put together by non-partisan global organization Transparency International—was released last week, and the United States has slipped in the rankings.

Most of the top 20 is made up of European names, with a few notable additions. New Zealand and Australia are both in the top 20, along with Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Barbados. And Qatar came in at number 19.

Apple is the latest company to feel the sting of corruption. A supply manager in Asia, Paul Devine, was arrested on Friday for giving Apple suppliers in the region confidential company information to help them win favorable contracts. Devine received more than $1 million in kickbacks from the companies involved.

The mid-level manager is in the custody of the US marshals and will appear in the US District Court in San Jose, California, Monday to face 23 counts of wire fraud and money laundering. According to the indictment, Devine allegedly used a chain of US and foreign bank accounts and a front company for receiving payments.

The SEC is clearly not letting up with its crusade against bribery.

The regulator has brought three fresh bribery cases in the past two days, including another one stemming from the UN’s oil for food program in Iraq, which is fast-appearing to be one of the greatest get-rich schemes in corrupt third world country (sorry for the redundancy) history.

General Electric agreed to pay more than $23.4 million to settle bribery charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission stemming from the UN Oil for Food Program in Iraq at the beginning of the millennium.

The SEC had filed Foreign Corrupt Practices Act books and records and internal controls charges against GE and two of its subsidiaries-Ionics, Inc. (currently GE Ionics) and Amersham plc (currently GE Healthcare).

Warning to Corporate America: Brace for a surge in bribery accusations.

The whistleblower provisions of the financial regulation bill signed by President Obama on Wednesday could lead to an increase in enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), says law firm Morrison & Foerster.

As Ron Fink noted earlier, the new financial reform bill has four provisions strengthening whistleblower rights, including financial incentives and legal protection against retaliation. http://www.cfozone.com/index.php/Compliance/Corporate-whistle-blowing-encouraged-by-financial-reform.html

If you are thinking about slipping a few hundred million bucks to some foreign government official to secure a business deal, think again.

The Obama Administration has made it very clear that it is cracking down on bribes.

According to a recent report sent to clients by the law firm Willkie Farr, in the first three months of 2010 alone, the U.S. government brought or resolved FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) charges against 36 companies and individuals.

UTStarcom Inc. has run afoul with regulators yet again.

 This time the maker of telecom products agreed to pay $3 million for bribing people in China. Half of the penalty is going to the Department of Justice and the other half to the Securities and Exchange Commission.