<p>The US authorities are stepping up investigations, including an FBI criminal inquiry, into possible violations by employees of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire of a US law banning corrupt payments to foreign officials such as police, law enforcement and corporate sources said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>But US investigators have found little to substantiate allegations of phone hacking inside the United States by Murdoch journalists, the sources added.<br /><br />The FBI is conducting an investigation into possible criminal violations by Murdoch employees of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), a law intended to curb payment of bribes by US companies to foreign officials, a US law enforcement official said.<br /><br />The US official said that if any law enforcement action was pursued by US authorities against Murdoch employees, it would most likely relate to FCPA.<br /><br />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 US government contracts, and individuals who participated in the bribery could face fines of up to $100,000 and a jail sentence of five years.<br /><br />Executives could be liable if they authorized bribes or knew about the practice but failed to stop it.<br />In practice, US authorities have usually settled FCPA cases in return for large cash payments from companies, who can sometimes avoid legal admissions of guilt.</p>
<p>The US authorities are stepping up investigations, including an FBI criminal inquiry, into possible violations by employees of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire of a US law banning corrupt payments to foreign officials such as police, law enforcement and corporate sources said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>But US investigators have found little to substantiate allegations of phone hacking inside the United States by Murdoch journalists, the sources added.<br /><br />The FBI is conducting an investigation into possible criminal violations by Murdoch employees of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), a law intended to curb payment of bribes by US companies to foreign officials, a US law enforcement official said.<br /><br />The US official said that if any law enforcement action was pursued by US authorities against Murdoch employees, it would most likely relate to FCPA.<br /><br />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 US government contracts, and individuals who participated in the bribery could face fines of up to $100,000 and a jail sentence of five years.<br /><br />Executives could be liable if they authorized bribes or knew about the practice but failed to stop it.<br />In practice, US authorities have usually settled FCPA cases in return for large cash payments from companies, who can sometimes avoid legal admissions of guilt.</p>